The theft of Irelands national resources.

I don't know much about offshore drilling agreements and the terms of such agreements. What I do know I will share with you.

From what I have gathered OPEC receive 80% of revenues for oil extracted from their territories. When we get to pisspot African dictatorships the figure drops to 60%. This is the case in Equatorial Guinea and it suits all involved. The government get to stick the money in an offshore bank and America gets cheap oil. The two main producers there are Exxonmobil and Marathon oil.

Equatorial Guinea's economy was in tatters until the discovery of oil. The first president murdered approximately 60,000 people which caused many to flee into exile. This caused a total collapse of the countries main industry which was cocoa farming. As a Spanish colony the country flourished as an exporter of cocoa up till the 1960's when the Spanish granted independance. By the time oil was discovered in the mid to late 1990's the country was in ruins. It beggars belief that a murdering butchering dictatorship in Africa can secure higher revenues than the Irish government.

What really gets me is that the Irish government are giving away our natural resources for nothing. Equatorial Guinea can secure 60% of its oil revenue and the Irish government basically gives ours away. The people of Africa never see the money fom oil revenues. Maybe we do have more in common with our Nigerian asylum seekers than I thought. We will see as much benefit from our oil as the people of Equitorial Guinea and Nigeria.

I was discussing the subject of Irelands oil with a friend who works in the offshore industry. He saw an agreement for drilling rights between Shell and the Nigerian government. Shell were to receive 10 dollars per barrel if the price was under 50 dollars per barrel, 15 if the price is above 50 dollars per barrel. This seems a fair agreement to me.

Now from latest reserve estimates at 10 billion barrels, the government should be shouting from the rooftops. Even if we were to get 60% of revenue from our resources we are rich. The public finances should be in great shape after a Summer of sky high oil prices.

So what will we gain from our oil? Will the government gain a fortune from the taxes of highly paid Irish offshore workers? I think not. That same friend of mine who told me about the Nigeria agreement was walking past a FAS office in Sligo one day. He saw a sign stating that offshore workers were required. He is well qualified and experienced in his field, so he thought he would go in for a chat. The guy in the office took his details and then got straight to the point. He said the purpose of the whole excercise was not to get Irish workers. The campaign was to show that there were no Irish workers suitably qualified in order to bring in cheaper foreign labour. It was all an excuse to make more money for those thieving our resources, and at the taxpayers expense. He did think it was strange that they were advertising offshore jobs in FAS windows. Offshore workers don't look in FAS windows for jobs.

Brazil has a strict military style of government, but at least the people of Brazil are having a boom in employment from the huge finds made by Petrobras, which is more than can be said for Ireland. Hugo Chavez nationalised the oil industry of Venezuela and his many projects to help his empoverished people have made him a hero. Where does that put the gangsters in the Dail in the league of corrupt, thieving and morally void governments?

http://www.wsm.ie/story/2187