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What we could do with €540 billion in oil and gas

category national | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis author Monday February 21, 2011 22:46author by AC Report this post to the editors

What could we do with the €540 billion in oil and gas which according to the Irish government lies in Ireland’s Atlantic Margin area?

It’s a mind-bogglingly large amount of money.

Actually, let’s assume for a moment only one-third of it is commercially viable. And let’s assume we decide to share a generous 50% of it with industry. That leaves €90 billion.

Let’s not think of the €50 billion PROVEN find in the Dalkey field in the Irish Sea. And the inland Lough Allen gas field, which may have a value of €94 billion. Let’s forget completely about them. Let’s forget, too, about the rest of our offshore territory – the Atlantic Margin area (that the government says has the €540 billion) occupies less than one-third of Ireland’s offshore.

Let’s just think about a nice round, extremely conservative, figure of €100 billion.

So. What could we buy with €100 billion? Well...

• The cost of building 25 new 50-teacher schools and running them for 50 years = €5 billion
• The cost of giving medical cards to everyone for 20 years, based on €500million cost in 2009 to cover 1.5million people = €20 billion
• Reduce the pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools to 1:20 for the next 20 years = €15 billion
• Get rid of the need for the planned public spending cuts over the next three years = €15 billion

Damn, That only makes €55 billion. We need to do some more wacky stuff:
• Build two Large Hadron Colliders (the underground particle accelerators on the Swiss/ French border) = €10 billion
• Start Ireland’s own space programme, by building 3 1.2 billion space shuttles - = €5 billion
• Pay the grocery bills of everybody in the country for a year = €10 billion
• Fund the UN’s entire World Food Programme for 2 years = €10 billion

Ahh, finally managed to spend it. But instead of all that sensible-ish stuff, why not go completely crazy?
• Give it to a bunch of fabulously wealthy gamblers who made some losses on the market
• Buy a few broken banks

Nope, still not mad enough. Let's go for the most lunatic proposal of all:
• Give it to a bunch of oil and gas corporations who will use it to buy your democracy out from under you, whose cops and courts will then beat and jail you if you dare to try make an effective protest.

Ah no, nobody is that crazy…

Without apologies to the Sunday Business Post.

author by ACpublication date Sat Feb 26, 2011 12:38author address author phone Report this post to the editors

A good way to get your head around them is to think about seconds.

A million seconds (1,000,000) is about eleven and a half days.

A billion seconds (1,000,000,000) is about 31 and a half years.

A trillion seconds (1,000,000,000,000) is about 31,700 years.

Take it back!!

author by opus diablos - the regressive hypocrite partypublication date Thu Feb 24, 2011 14:01author address author phone Report this post to the editors

The vote is over. Its neo-cons all the way. Pat Cox, Peter Southerland, Dermot Desmond, Parlon and Lowry et al are slipping into the cockpit.

The question becomes what way the opposition forms.
Micky Martin wil be out of the traps like the Bull O'D on steroids mixed with amphetamines; determined to try to outshout any attempt at driving an alternative analysis from the consensus the media have maintained throughout the election campaign.Deckchairs and decor.

It will be more difficult if Sinn fein and ULA make a decent showing. Martin has been given leeway all round by the mainstream gombeen press trying to resuscitate its collapsed advertising revenue. They are determined to blow up their busted PD tiger and see can they siphon another tranche out of the turnip. Expect more of the same. The FF-Punch n FG-Judy show saves them the trouble of thinking. Drama uber erosion of readership by rationality. Labour seems to be lost. Fawning like a fucking puppy over Endya's possible pat on the head.

Vote tomorrow. Then start preparing for the real scrap. Varadkar, Shatter, Noonan&Co are as arrogantly sure of their right to rule as Fianna Flatula.

The NEXT election might be listenable.

author by Eamonn O'Coillea'in - Republic of Irelandpublication date Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:39author address author phone Report this post to the editors

A Bank in England owns 54.4 million shares in shell, A bank in Germany owns 27 million shares and a bank in N.Y. owns 17 million shares of shell A shares, so the Banks own shell oil an gas, no wonder the last Gov. gave it all a way , not to its Irish people but to the banks, with nothing going to the people of the Country who have to bail out Irish Banks all the while Banks from other Countries enjoy tax free oil an gas from FF. It's beyond belief. There is great amounts of gas an oil out in the Atlantic ocean of the Irish coast, but now we learn that foreign banks are going to make all the profits in Trillions, time to really stand up.....at the voting box.....

author by Linguist.publication date Wed Feb 23, 2011 16:13author address author phone Report this post to the editors

"There's two definitions of a 'Billion'. The US Definition is a thousand million, and the other one is a million million however, it's the US version that's standardised or accepted."

In order to avoid confusion between two english speaking nations the British defined a billion as " one thousand million" in 1974.

So an English billion is the same as an American billion since then.

After all, the English can define what they like in their own English language.
.

author by Damien Mpublication date Wed Feb 23, 2011 15:37author address author phone Report this post to the editors

And henceforth for a Trillion-a thousand Billion.

author by Damien Mpublication date Wed Feb 23, 2011 15:35author address author phone Report this post to the editors

There's two definitions of a 'Billion'. The US Definition is a thousand million, and the other one is a million million however, it's the US version that's standardised or accepted.

author by opus diablos - the regressive hypocrite partypublication date Wed Feb 23, 2011 13:52author address author phone Report this post to the editors

I was saying a trillion is a thousand billion, as far as I know(my abacus is a bit rusty from lack of use at such high numerical altitudes). A tenner boggles me these days.

author by W. Finnertypublication date Tue Feb 22, 2011 11:38author address author phone Report this post to the editors

I hope that you (or somebody else) will correct me on this thread if I'm wrong, but I think 5.4 trillion Euros equals 5,400 billion Euros?

And, as can be seen at the address provided earlier (please see at Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:14) the iStockAnalist report very clearly states 5.4 trillion.

author by opus diablos - the regressive hypocrite partypublication date Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:38author address author phone Report this post to the editors

it adds up to 1,000 billion. I'm just counting the change from last weeks dole to be sure.Give me a week. I've nearly enough money left to start a war.

author by W. Finnertypublication date Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:14author address author phone Report this post to the editors

What we could do €5.4 TRILLION in oil ands gas, which is what the iStockAnalist report at http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/art...97336 suggests the Republic of Ireland's oil and gas resources are worth.

As far as I know, and allowing for the fact I'm not used to dealing with such large numbers, 5.4 trillion is (I think?) 10 times more than 540 billion.

Related link: http://www.humanrightsireland.com/DailEireannGroup1/20F...teral

author by ACpublication date Mon Feb 21, 2011 22:50author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Ask your candidates about the oil and gas!

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