Providence Resources Information & Links
Wednesday 27 October 2010
Obviously, island residents are keen to get as much information as possible about yesterday's news story about the petroleum exploration licence for Rathlin.
The Geological Survey Northern Ireland will be the government body advising on the process, and it in turn answers to DETI.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI), has clarified that the licence has not yet been 'granted', but has been 'offered'. This is not just some pedantic difference, but is actually very important - it means that the company concerned will still have to be subjected to certain processes and conditions before they might be given permission in the future to potentially drill for oil or gas - this includes an environmental assessment.
Some of the media coverage of this story has been unhelpful in using the term 'granted', which seemed to imply that this was a completely done deal, and that there would be no prospect of any environmental checks or other consultations.
The company that has been offered the licence is PR Singleton, which is a wholly owned UK subsidiary of Providence Resources, which is based in the Republic of Ireland. Providence issued a media release about the licence offer yesterday. Providence's major shareholder is Tony O'Reilly, the former Chief Executive Officer of Independent News and Media, the owners of newspapers in the Republic and Northern Ireland such as the Irish Independent, and the Belfast Telegraph. Providence's CEO is Tony O'Reilly's son, also called Tony O'Reilly. Providence Resources was founded in 1997, but its roots lie in Atlantic Resources, and subsequently Arcon International Resources.
Providence is also in a joint venture partnership with Northern Petroleum, with other partners including Shell. Northern Petroleum has been central to a controversial drilling project in Sussex.
This issue is obviously of great importance to all island residents and to the RDCA Committee. Since the announcement yesterday, the RDCA has been attempting to get as much information as possible about the situation, and to communicate that to the island community. Any further information will be passed on as soon as possible. In the meantime island residents might want to keep an eye on the website news section here, as well as the media section. Also, the increasingly popular and busy Facebook page 'Friends and Residents of Rathlin', has been discussing the story.