OIL AND NATURAL GASESHarriet O’Leary 3B

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What is a

resource?

A resource is something that

is of use to us.

There can be renewable and

non-renewable resources.

Renewable resources can be

used again and again for

example, water,

Where as non-renewable

resources will eventually run

out, for example, oil.

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How has the

discovery of oil

changed life for

people living in

Saudi Arabia?

• Saudi Arabia is the world’s

leading oil-exporting country. It

contains one-quarter of the

world’s crude oil.

• Saudi Arabia was a poor country

but oil wealth has now made

Saudi Arabia one of the world’s

richest countries.

• People who live there have access

to a high-standard of living,

plenty of employment, hospitals,

schools and other services.

• But oil, being a non-renewable

resource, will eventually be used

up, so Saudi Arabia must use its

current wealth to develop other

parts of its country.3

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What are

MNC’s?

•Oil and gas exploration can

provide huge profits for a

country but it is at the same

time a very expensive business.

• This is why oil and gas

exploration is carried out by

large and wealthy American or

European companies called

MNC’s, or multinational

companies. they are called this

because they operate in many

nations at the same time.

• An example of an MNC is the

Marathon Corporation, which

takes gas from the Kinsale Field

of the coast of Ireland.5

How do they

search for oil

and gas

(hydrocarbons) ?

• Sea areas are divided into blocks.

The companies rent some of these

blocks from the government of

that country.

• Rock studies are carried to see if

hydrocarbons exist underneath

their rented blocks

• If the rock studies show that

there are hydrocarbons

underneath, test holes may be

drilled to see him much oil or gas

exists.

• If there is a lot of oil or gas, rigs

are set up. Oil and gas is then

drilled and brought ashore

through a pipeline under the sea. 6

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Where is oil and

gas found

around Ireland?

• Large deposits of oil and gas

exist user the seabed off the

Irish coast. The largest

deposits have been found in

Kinsale Head Gas Fields

beneath the Celtic Sea off

the southern coast of

Ireland.

•Gas deposits have also been

found beneath the Atlantic in

the Corrib Gas Field off the

coast of County Mayo, but so

far, only the Kinsale Head

Gas Field has been used.8

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What are the

benefits?

• The benefits of Kinsale

Gas:

- Its used to generate

electricity at Aghada,

near where the pipelines

reach the coast.

- Its piped to supply many

towns throughout the

country.

- It has provided almost

20% of Ireland’s energy

needs for 25 years.10

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Some problems

with oil and gas:• When burned, they produce

carbon dioxide, which

contributes to global warming

• Spillages can pollute beaches

and harm animals

• They are finite resources, they

will eventually run out.

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Why might conflict exist over

the exploitation of oil & gas?Shell and other MNS’s want to develop the Corrib gas

field. But many people think that this plan is dangerous,

and there have been groups set up to oppose it. On the

other hand, people seem to think it is a good idea:

‣ Reasons to be against..

- The pipeline will lie on top of a seabed. The local

fishermen could get caught on it

- The pipeline will also run through boglands, which could

move and ause the pipe to burst.

- The gas travelling in the pipeline will be untreated,

which contains particles of sand minerals and gases that

could erode th pipeline from the inside, which will

increase the danger of explosion. 13

Why might conflict exist over the

exploitation of oil & gas?

‣ Reasons to support it…

- This gas would be able to provide energy to our homes,

schools and businesses.

- The terminal will provide fifty permanent jobs, and

hundreds of people will get jobs for laying the pipeline

and building the terminal.

- An Bórd Pleanála and the Enviormental Protection Agency

have both accepted the scheme, so it must be safe for it

to go ahead.

- Supplies from Kinsale are running out, so Corrib gas could

provide 60% of Ireland’s gas for up to twenty years.

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