Yesterday a decision was taken by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council to approve an expansion and repurposing of the oil storage facility at Cloghan Point. The plans from LCC (who own the GO brand ) will see an expansion of the storage facility, a blending facility at the site for highly volatile fuels (such as Ethanol) and a reconfiguration to becoming a local storage hub and distribution point.
To make this financially feasible, LCC are proposing to import ‘fracked’ oil from the US on tankers that have up to 6 times the capacity of those currently in use in Northern Ireland. The plan requires the setting up of a new Harbour Authority around Cloghan Point, effectively opening another port on Belfast Lough – an area with countless sites of scientific interest and unique habitats for endangered species. LCC propose to use the larger ships to import the oil at Cloghan, and then use smaller tankers to distribute it to Northern Ireland, Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Its is remarkable that such a project is proposed, let alone at a time when Northern Ireland has to cut its oil usage by thirteen percent by 2030. GO also operates in Ireland and it is noted that the Irish Government face fines of up to 500 Million Euro annually if emissions reduction targets for 2030 are missed.
The Irish Government were never notified of this project. Neither were most of Northern Ireland. The project was kept local hoping to get approval at a local level, even though the only way planning could be approved for this project (due to it being on a flood plain) was if it was of “overriding regional or sub-regional economic importance”.
Before the meeting where the project was approved, the Council had been notified by the Department for Infrastructure to put a hold on the project so that DFI can assess
“whether or not the application raises issues of such importance that their impact is considered to extend to a sub-regional or regional level; to warrant referral to it for determination under Section 29 of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.”
Unfortunately this action from DFI has come post a recommendation from the Council to proceed, instead of at the beginning of the planning process despite a number of requests that DFI intervene.
Our planning system is quite dysfunctional.
This should have been ‘called in’ by DFI immediately. The project itself is a reconfiguration of the supply chain of one of our main energy imports. The use of such large tankers is novel for Northern Ireland. The company involved will have more control of the N Ireland market which is unregulated. The issue of fuel poverty and the energy transition is key for our Communities. Marine Licences will be required from DAERA. The applicants state they don’t see any new users of oil as a result of this process but that is irrelevant when we have to reduce the number of current users. The applicant is in the business of selling oil. We could see further cuts in carbon budgets for Agriculture if our heating and transport sectors don’t reach their targets. So any decision is cross cutting and requires discussion at a Government level.
The import of fracked oil is controversial in both Northern Ireland and South of the border. The huge environmental and public health impacts of this technology are well known. Our US friends are bearing the brunt of those impacts, and they’ve been active in ensuring we don’t suffer the same. We can’t turn our back on them now.
The Gas Man Cometh ! 