Oliver drilling
Oliver drilling is the practice of extracting Olivers from the ground in order to sell or use them. This is most common in Blepia, specifically in the council regions of Novatica and Oileáin Thiar. It is one of the main industries in the Blepian economy, along with fishing and software development.
History
Discovery of Oliver
Oliver, also known by its short form name Oli, was discovered three kilometers north of Baile gan aon Chúis in the year 1987, by the Blepian entrepreneur Kai Sterck. Sterck then patented the Oliver Cartridge, a portable storage module which was able to hold 500 milliliters of pure oli. He then began a new enterprise, Sterck Oliver Enterprise, which drilled oli, as well as advertising it, finding new uses for it, and finding new oli reserves. Oliver became extremely popular in Blepia, replacing most traditional electricity supplies, and becoming the normal supply of electric power for Blepia.
Political impact of Oliver
However, after a few years of successful oli drilling, considerable environmental damage began to occur. Governments mostly turned a blind eye to this due to the wealth of Kai Sterck and the considerable influence he had in Blepian politics. However, after the democratisation of Blepia, the environmental damage from oli drilling once again became a hot issue. Paírtí an Phobail, along with Comhaontas Glas and Comhaontas Sóisialta Liobrálacha, argued to ban Oliver drilling entirely, while right wing parties such as Solas na Saoirse and An tAontas Daonlachath Tocsaplasmóis argued that it was too beneficial to the Blepian economy to ban, instead advocating safety regulations. Paírtí na Phobail were not able to pass a bill completely banning oli drilling through the Tionól Blepe, but most first-level councils have regulated it on their own.
Usage
Oliver has multiple applications, primarily as a source of electric power. Oliver can be used to power almost anything that can be powered with regular electricity, with the exception of air vehicles. It is also a valuable investment as it is predicted by most economists that Oliver drilling will be banned entirely not far in the future. Most Blepian families spend around 2% of their income on purchasing oli to use in their home. There is no centralised oli grid in Blepia, and households are mandated to contain an oliver barrel for in-home storage of oli.
Controversy
Aside from the environmental damage done by oliver drilling, a small minority believe that the usage of oli itself is unethical due to the lifeforms that make it work. Scientists from the University of Cuirfimid Báis proved in 2013 that each milligram of oliver contains approximately seventy of these lifeforms, who consume the fluids found in oliver to create energy. The Toxoplasmosist Democratic Party has expressed disdain at this and offered to donate money into finding a suffering-free oliver-like energy source. In addition to this issue, illegal oli drilling is a significant problem in Blepia, being one of the issues in the Blepian elections of July 2017.
