Irish National Petroleum Corporation

The Irish National Petroleum Corporation (INPC) is a semi-defunct Irish State-owned company which owned and operated the Whiddy Island Terminal on Whiddy Island and Whitegate Oil Refinery at Whitegate, both in County Cork, Ireland. It was founded in 1979 and was involved in acquiring oil, refining it, and distributing petroleum products to consumers in Ireland.[1] Its main assets were sold to TOSCO Corp (later Phillips Petroleum) in 2001.

As of 2020, the INPC has no staff, but has an active three-person board who manage a portion of the proceeds from the 2001 sale which was set aside for ongoing liabilities and claims.[2][3]

History

The Whitegate Oil Refinery, built in 1959, was threatened to be closed by its private owners in the early 1980s.[4] To avoid closure of Ireland's only refinery, and become completely reliant on foreign imports, the refinery was purchased by the INPC in 1982.[5] The Fuels (Control of Supplies) Order 1982 mandated that all importers of petroleum to Ireland purchase a proportion from the INPC, to ensure the refinery's success.[5]

The INPC acquired the Whiddy Island Terminal, destroyed in the 1979 Whiddy Island disaster, in 1985,[6] which it repaired and reopened by 1998.[7]

The National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA) was created in 1995 as a subsidiary of INPC and as of 2020 continues to manage Ireland's strategic oil reserves.[8]

Government philosophy later shifted away from owning strategic assets and towards privatisation,[9]:74 and in 1999 the INPC was asked by Minister for Public Enterprise Mary O'Rourke to investigate alternative commercial opportunities for its assets.[10] In 2000, American multinational TOSCO Corp announced its intention to acquire the INPC's assets (excluding NORA),[10] which was completed in 2001.[11][12]

References
  1. Roche, Dick (10 July 1990). "Report No. 02 - Irish National Petroleum Corporation Limited". Committee on Commercial State-Sponsored Bodies (6th Committee). Government of Ireland. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  2. "Oil Facts in Ireland". Ireland: Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  3. Rabbitte, Pat (1 July 2014). "Written Answers: Irish National Petroleum Company". Dáil Éireann. Retrieved 10 May 2020 – via KildareStreet.com.
  4. "Whitegate Refinery - Ireland's National Oil Refinery". Phillips 66 Whitegate Refinery. 2015. p. 4. Retrieved 30 January 2021 – via issuu.com. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  5. Peter D. Cameron; Michael Brothwood (2002). Competition in Energy Markets: Law and Regulation in the European Union. Oxford University Press. p. 236. ISBN 9780198257707.
  6. D. Palcic; E. Reeves (19 January 2011). Privatisation in Ireland: Lessons from a European Economy. Springer. pp. 92–95. ISBN 978-0-230-29757-9.
  7. Hogan, Dick (15 April 1998). "Bantry Bay oil terminal reopens". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 10 May 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  8. "Function: Background to NORA". National Oil Reserves Agency. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  9. Slevin, Amanda (22 July 2016). Gas, oil and the Irish state. Manchester University Press. pp. 62–64, 74. ISBN 9781526100979.
  10. O'Dea, Claire (1 August 2000). "US firm buys Whitegate in $100m deal". Irish Independent. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  11. "Cabinet approves sale of Petroleum Corporation". RTE News. 28 May 2001. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  12. Hennessy, Mark (29 May 2001). "Sale of Irish National Petroleum Corporation agreed for #116m". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2020.

Further reading
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