In todays Indo!! Look out Bush could be coming to liberate us from Bertie and Fianna Fail after years of oppression and tyranny
THE property boom might be over, but Ireland could be on the verge of an oil and gas boom to rival the concrete economy of the last tenyears.
According to the Petroleum Affairs Division of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, there is at least 10 billion barrels of oil lying off the west coast Ireland - which has a current value of €450bn (€50 a barrel).
Added to gas supplies, energy exports have the potential to transform Ireland into a new Middle East.
"A recent regional assessment estimated resources in the Porcupine and Rockall Basins at ten billion barrels of oil. Estimates are based on comparisons with the geology of other regions with proven success," explained Helen Chandler, spokesperson for the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.
In a recently publishedscientific report by thePetroleum Affairs Division,entitled Atlantic Ireland, it stated: "The potential shows volumes of over 130 billion barrels of oil and 50 trillion cubic feet of gas."
Most of these deposits have been pinpointed along anunderwater ridge known as the Atlantic Margin which runs parallel to the west coast of Ireland in a more or less straight line before arcing off towards Scotland and the North Sea onwards towardsScandinavia.
To date, the Atlantic Ridge hasn't let anyone down. The Dunquin gas field which is 200km off the coast of Kerry contains an astonishing 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 4,130 million barrels of oil.
Put into context, this alone would meet our gas needs - at present consumption levels - for the next 62 years.
that's great gas altogether.
The govt will probably give it away to shell for f*ck all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We should only agree if the DUP agree to reunite with the rest of the country.
Quote from: Aerlik on May 22, 2007, 05:07:25 PM
We should only agree if the DUP agree to reunite with the rest of the country.
Which country? Australia? At least that way, NI would get to keep the same Head of State, God Bless Her!
QuoteWhich country? Australia?
I propose that the DUP all go to Australia.
Quote from: thejuice on May 22, 2007, 03:53:19 PM
"A recent regional assessment estimated resources in the Porcupine and Rockall Basins at ten billion barrels of oil.
And who owns Rockall?
In 1997 the United Kingdom ratified the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In doing so it relinquished its right to claim an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 200 nautical miles (370 km) extending from the rock, as the agreement states that "Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf". However, as Rockall lies within 200 nautical miles (370 km) of both St Kilda and North Uist, the island itself remains within the EEZ of the United Kingdom and as such, under international law the UK can claim "..the sovereignty of the coastal state in relation to the exploitation, conservation and management of natural and living resources fishery and mineral resources" of the rock itself and an area of territorial waters extending for 12 nautical miles around it. Furthermore, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland have signed a boundary agreement which includes Rockall in the United Kingdom area.Now the above came from Wikipedia, so it might be a load of nonsense, but in any case, even if there is oil, I wouldn't count on the Republic being allowed to grab it for itself. If nothing else, Denmark and Iceland both also maintain some sort of a claim. Therefore, we could end up more like the Middle East than we know i.e. a load of looneys fighting over a bit of rock... :D
Quote from: armaghniac on May 22, 2007, 05:13:48 PM
QuoteWhich country? Australia?
I propose that the DUP all go to Australia.
It was our Convicts we traditionally sent to Australia, so perhaps you mean Sinn Fein? :D
Not to mention the Presbyterians of the latter centuries
Re.that Wikipedia entry, i seem to remember that Ireland contested that ruling and won. Around the same time the Wolfe Tones issued a song entitled Youll get F--K All From Rockall
Hmmm, oil believe it when I see it
Quote from: Pangurban on May 23, 2007, 01:32:20 AM
Re.that Wikipedia entry, i seem to remember that Ireland contested that ruling and won. Around the same time the Wolfe Tones issued a song entitled Youll get F--K All From Rockall
Looks like it is still unresolved.
Rockall
Rockall is an isolated, uninhabited, pudding shaped sea-rock situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is tiny: only 19m high, 25m across and 30m wide. Rockall is located 57° N, 13° W, which puts it about 300 miles from the coasts of Scotland, Ireland, and Iceland. The sea area around it, also known as Rockall, is well known to ardent listeners of the North Atlantic Shipping Forecasts.
A bare granite quartz rock, formed by volcanic upheavals around 50 million years ago, Rockall's chemical composition identifies it as part of the North American continental plate. Nothing much lives there apart from colonies of gannets, seagulls and periwinkles1. Although it is the only piece of land in hundreds of square miles of open sea, it has been responsible for at least two major shipwrecks - the Helen of Dundee in 1824, and the Norge in 1904 when over 600 people were killed.
The United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, and strangely enough, Denmark, have been bickering for years regarding territorial rights to the place. This would seem at first glance a bit over the top, since limpets and gannet poo are found in abundance on all North Atlantic coasts. However, it's not what Rockall is that's important, it's what Rockall is on. Rockall sits on the Rockall Bank, a massive sea bank which geologists believe may contain significant amounts of natural gas and oil. Added to this are the lucrative fishing grounds surrounding the island. All this makes Rockall a highly coveted prize.
The British originally claimed ownership on Rockall in 1955. A number of 'annexation' forces actually climbed the rock to rubber-stamp the territorial claim. The UK Government subsequently passed an Act of Parliament in 1971 incorporating Rockall into Invernesshire in Scotland. They followed this by installing a navigational beacon on the island, and declaring that no craft would be allowed within 50 miles of the rock2. This prompted a fierce diplomatic fight where the status of Rockall as an island was put into question. Enter John Ridgeway and SAS man Tom McLean who, at separate times in the 1980s, climbed the rock and stayed there for one month, thus apparently validating Rockall's right to be an island, and therefore to be a sovereign part of British territory. This feat of endurance was broken in 1997, when Greenpeace activists landed on the island, stayed for 42 days, replaced the navigational beacon with a solar-powered one and declared Rockall the sovereign territory of Waveland, announcing that it was now, 'two steps closer to freedom from oil development and industrialisation'. The status of Rockall remains unresolved to the present day.
The story of Rockall has inspired a number of fascinating websites: The Rockall Times is an anarchic and hilarious website featuring highly satirical articles on the world's current affairs. You can also visit the Waveland Site and become a citizen of this new country!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 In fact, only six animal species are resident on the island.
2 This beacon is featured in a bizarre photograph showing two Royal Marines standing to attention beside a sentry box mounted on the pinnacle of the island.
Source http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A755787 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A755787)
sending an sas man to stay on the rock to get it classed as an island, you couldnt make this stuff up, good name tho, rockall!
Always was one of my favourite Wolfe Tones songs
ROCK ON ROCKALL
Oh the empire is finished no foreign lands to seize
So the greedy eyes of England are looking towards the seas
Two hundred miles from Donegal, there's a place that's called Rockall
And the groping hands of Whitehall are grabbing at its walls
Oh rock on Rockall, you'll never fall to Britain's greedy hands
Or you'll meet the same resistance that you did in many lands
May the seagulls rise and pluck your eyes and the water crush your shell,
And the natural gas will burn your ass and blow you all to hell.
For this rock is part of Ireland, 'cos it' s written in folklore
That Fionn MacCumhaill took a sod of grass and he threw it to the fore,
Then he tossed a pebble across the sea, where ever it did fall,
For the sod became the Isle of Man and the pebble's called Rockall.
Now the seas will not be silent, while Britannia grabs the waves
And remember that the Irish will no longer be your slaves,
And remember that Britannia, well, - she rules the waves no more
So keep your hands off Rockall - it's Irish to the core.
Quote from: tayto on May 23, 2007, 09:58:35 AM
sending an sas man to stay on the rock to get it classed as an island, you couldnt make this stuff up, good name tho, rockall!
Whilst it does have a certain comic potential, I have to say that under international law, a prior period of continuous occupation/habitation is somewhat sounder evidence of ownership than:
"For this rock is part of Ireland, 'cos it' s written in folklore
That Fionn MacCumhaill took a sod of grass and he threw it to the fore,
Then he tossed a pebble across the sea, where ever it did fall,
For the sod became the Isle of Man and the pebble's called Rockall" Of course, I would normally accept that the Wolfe Tones' effort as a simple joke, were it not for the fact that those dingbats almost certainly
believe the guff about Finn McCool etc ???
Sher you wouldnt want to mind the Wolf Tones.
I never knew a rock had to be lived on to be classed as an island, all a bit bizare really, still a massive fudge all the same.
OK, so this thread is going totally off topic. I was hoping to talk about what this might mean for the future of the Irish economy. €450 billion thats an unbelievable amount of money. How would it be best for the irish government to go about making the most of this. Could it really help make the west a more affluent place do you think?
Tax.
Quote from: thejuice on May 23, 2007, 11:44:35 AM
OK, so this thread is going totally off topic. I was hoping to talk about what this might mean for the future of the Irish economy. €450 billion thats an unbelievable amount of money. How would it be best for the irish government to go about making the most of this. Could it really help make the west a more affluent place do you think?
It is hardly off-topic to point out that even if there
is oil off Rockall
and it is economically recoverable, it still has to be determined who actually owns the rights to it before it will transform anyone's national economy (including the Irish Republic's).
At the last count, four independant nations consider they have a valid claim; if oil is found, it shouldn't be too surprising if that number is added to!
Quote from: thejuice on May 23, 2007, 11:44:35 AM
OK, so this thread is going totally off topic. I was hoping to talk about what this might mean for the future of the Irish economy. €450 billion thats an unbelievable amount of money. How would it be best for the irish government to go about making the most of this. Could it really help make the west a more affluent place do you think?
sounds great
if as straightforward as it seems then it could be worth a lot to the country and especially the west
The western airports of shannona nd knock will take on a new lease of life! plus the boos to the local economy would be great.
But is it that straight forward?
I think I heard about this before, but the oil/gas fields were very hard to get at - located in deep waters and very deep down.
The cost of extraction was very high.
Plus if you have other countries claiming ownership rights purely based on the fact that they know there is valuable resourses based there, then legal battles will ensue which guarantees that this wont be resolved for a long long time.
if ever
hope if this is true though, that it will be a boost to the local economy!
(and not given away)
QuoteAt the last count, four independant nations consider they have a valid claim; if oil is found, it shouldn't be too surprising if that number is added to!
I am sure Alex Salmond would be interested in this, but when Scotland becomes independent, whatever is left of Britain wouldn't have a claim.
QuoteIt was our Convicts we traditionally sent to Australia, so perhaps you mean Sinn Fein?
Evil Genuis, in this new era of equality surely we need to deport some of the DUP to Australia to ensure a proper balance there, given that so much government money has been spent in the past transporting taigs.
Quote from: armaghniac on May 23, 2007, 12:14:41 PM
QuoteAt the last count, four independant nations consider they have a valid claim; if oil is found, it shouldn't be too surprising if that number is added to!
I am sure Alex Salmond would be interested in this, but when Scotland becomes independent, whatever is left of Britain wouldn't have a claim.
QuoteIt was our Convicts we traditionally sent to Australia, so perhaps you mean Sinn Fein?
Evil Genuis, in this new era of equality surely we need to deport some of the DUP to Australia to ensure a proper balance there, given that so much government money has been spent in the past transporting taigs.
leave it out armaghmaniac
we all know who the villans were(are) but as they no longer have the same power (and are trying to repent to be seen as moderates and decents before the UI comes into play) then theres no point in being triumphalist in pointing out such obv things!
;)