By:
William Hederman - IrishOilandGas.com
Last month (December 2011) I was invited to make a written submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture, which is reviewing Ireland’s licensing terms for oil and gas exploration. My submission is below.
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Joint Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture
Offshore Exploration: Discussion
Submission by journalist William Hederman
Supported by Dr Andy Storey, School of Politics & International Relations, University College Dublin
December 12th, 2011
I am a freelance journalist. I am also a campaigner in a voluntary capacity. In the past year, I have carried out extensive research into issues around Ireland’s management of its hydrocarbon resources. I was motivated to do this by the fact that debate on the topic has been so poorly informed. My research has resulted in several significant – and alarming – revelations. Chief among these is the existence of an industry report which shows that, because of the extraordinary tax write-offs available under Ireland’s licensing terms, the State ‘take’ from gas fields in Irish waters is likely to be closer to 5% than to the 25% – or 40% – that is widely perceived to be the case.
Posted Date:
27 February 2012