Press21 Mar 2025 07:21
Letters to the editor from today’s Irish Examiner, which is very timely, considering what is going on in Ireland,..
Patrick Davis makes a compelling and timely case for harnessing the oil lying offshore rather than transporting it halfway around the world, citing the recent disastrous fuel tanker collision in the North Sea and possible environmental damage (‘End fuel shipping’ — Letters to the Editor, March 14).
Presumably he is referring to the dormant oil and gas field at Barryroe off the Cork coast. This field has been independently proven to contain 312,000,000 barrels of high-quality oil and 11,326 cubic metres of natural gas which, if developed, within a few years would ensure Ireland’s energy security for decades to come as we transition slowly to renewables.
Significantly, it would replace 100% of vulnerable oil imports and 80% of gas imports costing over $1m every hour. Our own native supply would substantially reduce our carbon footprint and emissions and substantially lower the cost of energy to consumers.
The last government, in 2019, despite being almost totally dependent on imports through subsea pipes, made a grossly irresponsible decision to stop issuing oil and gas exploration off our coast. The result is that today Ireland’s energy security and supply are on a precarious knife edge.
The situation was exacerbated in 2023 by the inexplicable decision by then energy minister Eamon Ryan to refuse a licence for further appraisal work at Barryroe, forcing the company into liquidation, despite many billions having been spent on the project over the previous decade.
Common sense, environmental and economic sense, should guide the current Government, unburdened by dogma and ideology, to urgently address the current critical situation by pragmatically reopening the Barryroe file, in the national interest.
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