IRL: Ryan’s oil security review will cost government €224,000

Energy minister Eamon Ryan is spending almost a quarter of a million euro on a review of the security of Ireland’s oil supplies, which will include assessing the possibility of constructing an oil pipeline to Britain or continental Europe.

Also up for review are the prospects of oil extraction in Irish waters and an assessment of diminishing North Sea oil reserves. T he consultants have been asked to undertake their study in the context of the ‘peak oil’ theory, which postulates that global oil production is rapidly reaching maximum levels.
‘‘We need to know exactly how and from where Ireland can expect its oil in the coming years,’’ Ryan said.’ ‘We need to mitigate against dependency on resources that will peak and then decline. The place to start is with this exercise, so we know exactly where we are and can plan from there.”

The study was commissioned following the publication last year of the government’s white paper ‘Delivering a Sustainable Energy Future for Ireland’. It made a commitment to review the security of oil supplies and assess strategies in relation to being prepared for energy supply disruptions.

Sunday Business Post