Shell to Sea and the Russian attack on Georgia- Evening Herald finds a connection

by Tim Hourigan Wed Aug 20, 2008 22:42

2 connections in fact !

Thinking of Ireland's energy 'security' I marvelled at reports that the Russian gas company Gazprom is preparing to enter the Irish market, and nothing is made of it in the mainstream media here (outside of business pages).
As things stand, (thanks to Frank Fahey and other FFs) the Corrib gas field is given away to Shell, with no requirement to supply the rightful owners. They can sell it off through interconnectors to other countries.
And instead, we could end up relying on Gazprom, which is a very unreliable source, coming from the other end of the continent, and depending on the goodwill of the Kremlin.

The current President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, ( handpicked for the job by his pre-decessor) used to be chairman of Gazprom. If your recall that in January 2006, Russia shut off the gas supply to the Ukraine (supposedly over an argument over gas prices, but really about other issues) then you understand who we're dealing with. You do something to upset us, we turn off the gas... in mid-Winter.

So, the facts are that it is totally in our interest to renegotiate the Corrib gas deal. Letting Shell do what they want will put us at the mercy of Putin and Medvedev. (of course we also need to develop alternative energy and become less wasteful of fossil fuels)

Now, you might just think that the Evening Herald is being lazy here, in going for sensationalism rather than proper analysis, but remember, that 'newspaper' is controlled by Independent News and Media, and INM is Tony O'Reilly's company, the man who owns 40.08% of Providence Resources, currently exploring the Porcupine Basin off the coast of Co. Clare for gas and oil.
They recently announced a farming out deal, with a firm called Chrysaor, whereby in return for Chrysaor doing the actuall exploratory drilling (expensive and not always successful) they will get a 30% stake in the gas field, rising to as much as 70% if two wells are established.
And how much would the Irish state get? Same as Corrib. S. F. A.
So it's no surprise that they would want Shell to Sea to give up long before their own gas is tapped.

by Tim Hourigan Thu Aug 21, 2008 01:36

So, with Shell & Co free to export our gas through international pipelines, to the highest bidder, to no benefit to the Irish state, (and Providence free to do the same), we will be taking in up to 15% of our gas from Gazprom, the Russian company, up until recently headed by Dmitry Medvedev, before he took up his job as President of Russia.
2 years ago, in a dispute, with the Ukraine, Russia turned off the taps in the middle of winter.
Is this who you want to depend on for your energy needs?
Contrary to the Rubbish in the Evening Herald, this is just one reason why the Government needs to get a better deal on Irish Oil and Gas fields, to ensure that the State has a stake in it, and that some portion of the gas must be provided to the Irish national grid, rather than exported.

The crazy future of Irish Energy Security

by WPF Thu Aug 21, 2008 10:10

Assuming they are true, and I have no reason to seriously doubt them, how can the "S.F.A" type statements made above fit in with the piece below from Article 10 of Bunreacht na hEireann (Constitution of the Republic of Ireland)?

"All natural resources, including the air and all forms of potential energy, within the jurisdiction of the Parliament and Government established by this Constitution and all royalties and franchises within that jurisdiction belong to the State ..."

From Wikipedia:

"More generally, 'gombeen' is now an adjective referring to all kinds of underhand or corrupt activities and to the mindset possessed by those engaged in such activities. In Irish politics, it is used to condemn an opponent for dishonesty or corruption, although its definition has become less precise with time and usage and it can also imply pettiness and close-mindedness. Alternative modern parlance for a gombeen man is someone 'on the make'." (Excerpt copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gombeen_man )

by layabout youth Thu Aug 21, 2008 15:12

Don't let anyone tell you that the deal can not be changed. The US govt is changing the rules so that oil companies which are operating under generous deals they were awarded in the 1980's (when oil was cheap) aren't allowed to apply for new licences, unless they are willing to renegotiate the contracts.

It's easy to do. All it takes is political will.

The U.S. Senator who proposed the new law is called Barack Obama, and if he wins the election (he won't if the oil companies can help it) he will no doubt be invited to visit Ireland and have his back slapped by Biffo and the rest, they same gombeens who are giving our resources away under deals that the Americans would be amazed at.

And you won't read any of that in the Evening Herald.

Oil Sense Act: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:s.115

Obama on energy: http://obama.senate.gov/issues/energy/