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EspañolCORRIB GAS PROJECT
The 'Corrib gas project' entails exploiting a natural gas deposit off the northwest coast of Ireland. It is located about 80 km off Erris Head in County Mayo, in water depths of 355 metres.
The natural gas field, discovered in 1996, was the first commercial natural gas discovery in Ireland since the Kinsale gas field in 1973. The gas is from Triassic strata. The company set up to exploit the field is a conventure of Shell E&P Ireland (operator 45%), Statoil Exploration (Ireland) Limited (36.5%), and Marathon International Petroleum Hibernia Limited (18.5%). Reserves in the field are believed to be around 1 trillion ft³ (70% the volume of the Kinsale field).
Shell have proposed to develop the Corrib field as a sub-sea production facility with onshore processing. This method of development is claimed by Shell to be in line with best industry practice for gas fields of this type, but no other refinery in the world is so close to a residential community and regional water supply. Many people, especially those who live near the proposed pipeline and refinery, are deeply concerned about the health, safety and environmental impact of the onshore aspects of the scheme, and, citing Shell's record, do not believe the company's assurances. Others are extremely unhappy with the irregularities and precedents surrounding the project. Sinn Féin called for an inquiry into the Corrib deal as early as 2001. Protests by residents have been ongoing daily at the refinery site since the summer of 2005, when five local men were jailed for contempt of court after refusing Shell access to their lands. The Shell to Sea campaign was born during their imprisonment.
There are essentially four parts to the proposed Corrib project:
# the offshore operations including the wells and subsea facilities
# the offshore section of the pipeline
# the onshore section of the pipeline
# the gas processing plant at Bellanaboy, Co. Mayo
The second two have proved extremely contentious, and were objected to by both An Taisce and Dúchas. Planning permission for the refinery was originally refused unequivocally, and the onshore section of the pipeline was not subject to any planning regulation whatsoever.
In 1987, in a move described by Dick Spring as "economic treason" [1], Fianna Fáil Minister for Energy Ray Burke ended all state involvement in oil and gas exploration [2]. In 1992, then Minister for Finance (now Taoiseach) Bertie Ahern extended licensing terms for oil and gas companies, abolished royalties from Irish fields, and drastically reduced the tax rate for exploration companies to the lowest in the world. This prompted a director of Statoil to remark: ''"No country in the world gives as favourable terms to oil and gas companies as Ireland."'' [3] The World Bank puts Ireland at the top (in the "very favourable" category) of its index of countries ranked by how congenial their laws are to oil and gas companies, followed by Pakistan and Argentina. Nigeria, where the influence of the oil companies on government policy has been a source of much controversy, only ranks as "average".
In 2002, the inspector from An Bord Pleanála (the Irish planning authority) refused to grant planning permission to the consortium for a refinery at Bellinaboy, stating it was ''"unsustainable"'', unsuitable for such a remote area, and posed a threat to ''"a sensitive and scenic environment"''. In an unprecedented subversion of the planning process, then Minister for Marine and Natural Resources Frank Fahey told the media that this refusal was "just a hitch" [4]. He was backed by local Fine Gael TD (now leader of that party) Enda Kenny, but opposed by another local TD (also from Fine Gael), Michael Ring. An Bord Pleanála had asked Shell to examine the less profitable option of refining the gas at sea. This was not done. Planning permission was not required for the onshore pipeline as, uniquely, the Irish government decided to classify it as an offshore development.
In 2003 senior executives from Shell sought, and were given, an interview with Ahern, who was now Taoiseach, and other Irish government ministers. Within a week, Ahern met with the board of An Bord Pleanála, who are appointed by the government. The board quickly decided to ignore its inspector's report, and planning permission was granted soon after. Not long before, a huge landslide swept away the whole surface area of a mountain close to the intended pipeline route.
In 2005, Ray Burke was jailed for six months for tax evasion. Burke is currently under scrutiny from the Mahon Tribunal for, among other things, payments he received from Rennicks Ltd.. Rennicks Ltd. is associated with businessman Tony O'Reilly, who secured many offshore licenses from Burke and Fianna Fáil in the 1980s. Bertie Ahern's irregular financial affairs during his tenure as Minister for Finance are also being examined by the tribunal. Like his former party leader Charlie Haughey, Frank Fahey has repeatedly failed to explain adequately the source of the wealth that has allowed him to build up an extensive international property and business portfolio [5].
Opponents of Shell's plans in the two big parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, are few and far between. Michael Ring was the highest-profile FG opponent until doing a U-turn on the issue, while West Mayo Senator Frank Chambers is the highest-profile FF opponent.
On 29 June 2005, five local landowners, the ''Rossport Five'', were jailed after being held in contempt of court for breaking a High Court injunction which put them under a legal obligation to allow Shell workers on their lands. These five men are: James Brendan Philbin, brothers Philip and Vincent McGrath, Willie Corduff and Micheál Ó Seighin. Demonstrations took place around the country in the support of the men and the issue was raised in the national parliament, the Oireachtas. After spending 94 days in Cloverhill Prison, they were released on 30 September 2005, when Shell, having been subjected to prolonged opprobrium, applied to the High Court to have the injunction lifted. The previously disparate and fragmented opposition to the project had united during the mens' imprisonment, and became 'Shell to Sea' after their release.
The Shell to Sea campaign continued to call for the route of the pipeline to be changed, as well as the location of the refinery. Rossport Solidarity Camp was deliberately located on the beach at Glengad close to the landfall of the proposed pipeline, at the request of residents of Rossport. In April 2007, in a victory for the campaign, the High Court ruled that Shell cannot use the pipeline route they wanted. Although they now have no stated plan for bringing the gas to the proposed refinery, an optimistic Shell continues construction at Bellinaboy.
A poll conducted by TNS/MRBI on behalf of RTE's Nuacht (the state broadcaster's Irish language news programme) in September 2006 showed widespread support for the Shell to Sea campaign throughout County Mayo [6]. The poll showed that ''"6 in 10 feel the Corrib Gas terminal should be located offshore at sea, with just under one quarter supporting the Bellanaboy option. The offshore alternative has strongest support amongst those aged under 49 years, and those residing in Castlebar/Ballinrobe/ Claremorris and Westport/Belmullet areas."'' The following month Shell resumed work, enabled by An Garda Siochana baton-charging protesters [7], which caused many injuries and some hospitalisations. The threat of Garda violence has resulted in a serious scaling-down of the protests.
The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey, commissioned a company to produce what was called an "Independent Safety Review" of the pipeline. Hours after the company produced its report, it emerged that it was jointly owned by Shell and British Petroleum. Dempsey, who seemed genuinely ignorant of this, denied the report was compromised but agreed to commission another. The second review was strongly criticised by those opposed to the project for failing to consider alternatives to refining the gas onshore. The authors of the review, Advantica, said:
''“Proper consideration will be given to safety issues in the selection process for the preferred design option and the locations of the landfall, pipeline route and terminal”'' and:
''“Provided that it will be demonstrated that the pressure in the onshore pipeline will be limited effectively, and that the recommendations made somewhere else in this report are followed, we (Advantica) believe that there will be a massive safety margin in the pipeline design, and the pipeline design and proposed route should be accepted as meeting or exceeding international standards in terms of acceptability of risk and international best practice for high pressure pipelines.”''
Another company, Accufacts Inc., also produced a report on the pipeline [8] for the Centre for Public Inquiry, concentrating on the safety aspects and concerns surrounding the issue. It was highly critical of the current plans for the pipeline, and skeptical of the assurances given. The author said:
''"It should be fairly obvious by now that past information on this project has been less than complete. Much of this information appears to be of a propaganda nature intended to spin public relations to an ill informed or misinformed public or government. In today’s information
age this is a tactic fraught with risks as the deceptions are uncovered.
Regarding the proposed onshore pipeline route, serious challenges should be raised as to any risk analysis that fails to adequately address the issues raised by the production pipeline, as the thermal impact zones for this very unique high pressure pipeline are quite large with a high probability of mortality..."''
''"If the Gas Processing Plant site location were to remain as proposed, we advise a reroute of the proposed pipeline incorporating safety buffer zones of 200 metres for dwellings and at least 400 metres for unsheltered individuals."''
''"Placement of a Gas Process Plant on a shallow offshore platform would substantially reduce production pipeline rupture impact zones associated with specific pipeline design modifications. A transmission pipeline from such an offshore facility could be operated at lower pressures, move much higher quality gas, and permit appropriate cleaning and smart pigging programs that would reduce the potential impact zone associated with a gas transmission pipeline failure."''
Other experts have also rubbished Advantica's claims. Some contend that the safety zone around the pipeline should be at least 500 metres (the norm in the United States) from any dwellings [9]. Philip McGrath, jailed for three months for his opposition to the original pipeline route, lives within 70 metres of it.
★ Rossport Five
★ Shell to Sea
★ Rossport Solidarity Camp
★ Controversies surrounding Royal Dutch Shell
★ Royal Dutch Shell safety concerns
★ Shell Nigeria
★ Shell to Sea campaign
★ Centre For Public Inquiry's review of events surrounding the Corrib gas project
★ Technical details of the Corrib project from Shell's offshore-technology.com
★ Technical details of proposed pipeline from Accufacts Inc.
★ Shell's page on Corrib project
★ Mayo Gas Info
★ Advantica's review of onshore pipeline
★ Rossport Solidarity Camp
★ Statoil's page on Corrib field
★ Bitter dispute over gas pipeline — BBC news article on controversy
★ Families' anger as five men are jailed in gas pipeline case — Irish Times article on Rossport Five
★ Rossport men released by High Court — RTÉ News article
★ Buckfastforbreakfast A look at the varied media response to the Corrib controversy.
★ Gas Lads, article from Magill on resources giveaway
The natural gas field, discovered in 1996, was the first commercial natural gas discovery in Ireland since the Kinsale gas field in 1973. The gas is from Triassic strata. The company set up to exploit the field is a conventure of Shell E&P Ireland (operator 45%), Statoil Exploration (Ireland) Limited (36.5%), and Marathon International Petroleum Hibernia Limited (18.5%). Reserves in the field are believed to be around 1 trillion ft³ (70% the volume of the Kinsale field).
Shell have proposed to develop the Corrib field as a sub-sea production facility with onshore processing. This method of development is claimed by Shell to be in line with best industry practice for gas fields of this type, but no other refinery in the world is so close to a residential community and regional water supply. Many people, especially those who live near the proposed pipeline and refinery, are deeply concerned about the health, safety and environmental impact of the onshore aspects of the scheme, and, citing Shell's record, do not believe the company's assurances. Others are extremely unhappy with the irregularities and precedents surrounding the project. Sinn Féin called for an inquiry into the Corrib deal as early as 2001. Protests by residents have been ongoing daily at the refinery site since the summer of 2005, when five local men were jailed for contempt of court after refusing Shell access to their lands. The Shell to Sea campaign was born during their imprisonment.
| Contents |
| Project proposal |
| Irregularities |
| Opposition escalates |
| Safety reviews |
| See also |
| External links |
Project proposal
There are essentially four parts to the proposed Corrib project:
# the offshore operations including the wells and subsea facilities
# the offshore section of the pipeline
# the onshore section of the pipeline
# the gas processing plant at Bellanaboy, Co. Mayo
The second two have proved extremely contentious, and were objected to by both An Taisce and Dúchas. Planning permission for the refinery was originally refused unequivocally, and the onshore section of the pipeline was not subject to any planning regulation whatsoever.
Irregularities
In 1987, in a move described by Dick Spring as "economic treason" [1], Fianna Fáil Minister for Energy Ray Burke ended all state involvement in oil and gas exploration [2]. In 1992, then Minister for Finance (now Taoiseach) Bertie Ahern extended licensing terms for oil and gas companies, abolished royalties from Irish fields, and drastically reduced the tax rate for exploration companies to the lowest in the world. This prompted a director of Statoil to remark: ''"No country in the world gives as favourable terms to oil and gas companies as Ireland."'' [3] The World Bank puts Ireland at the top (in the "very favourable" category) of its index of countries ranked by how congenial their laws are to oil and gas companies, followed by Pakistan and Argentina. Nigeria, where the influence of the oil companies on government policy has been a source of much controversy, only ranks as "average".
In 2002, the inspector from An Bord Pleanála (the Irish planning authority) refused to grant planning permission to the consortium for a refinery at Bellinaboy, stating it was ''"unsustainable"'', unsuitable for such a remote area, and posed a threat to ''"a sensitive and scenic environment"''. In an unprecedented subversion of the planning process, then Minister for Marine and Natural Resources Frank Fahey told the media that this refusal was "just a hitch" [4]. He was backed by local Fine Gael TD (now leader of that party) Enda Kenny, but opposed by another local TD (also from Fine Gael), Michael Ring. An Bord Pleanála had asked Shell to examine the less profitable option of refining the gas at sea. This was not done. Planning permission was not required for the onshore pipeline as, uniquely, the Irish government decided to classify it as an offshore development.
In 2003 senior executives from Shell sought, and were given, an interview with Ahern, who was now Taoiseach, and other Irish government ministers. Within a week, Ahern met with the board of An Bord Pleanála, who are appointed by the government. The board quickly decided to ignore its inspector's report, and planning permission was granted soon after. Not long before, a huge landslide swept away the whole surface area of a mountain close to the intended pipeline route.
In 2005, Ray Burke was jailed for six months for tax evasion. Burke is currently under scrutiny from the Mahon Tribunal for, among other things, payments he received from Rennicks Ltd.. Rennicks Ltd. is associated with businessman Tony O'Reilly, who secured many offshore licenses from Burke and Fianna Fáil in the 1980s. Bertie Ahern's irregular financial affairs during his tenure as Minister for Finance are also being examined by the tribunal. Like his former party leader Charlie Haughey, Frank Fahey has repeatedly failed to explain adequately the source of the wealth that has allowed him to build up an extensive international property and business portfolio [5].
Opponents of Shell's plans in the two big parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, are few and far between. Michael Ring was the highest-profile FG opponent until doing a U-turn on the issue, while West Mayo Senator Frank Chambers is the highest-profile FF opponent.
Opposition escalates
On 29 June 2005, five local landowners, the ''Rossport Five'', were jailed after being held in contempt of court for breaking a High Court injunction which put them under a legal obligation to allow Shell workers on their lands. These five men are: James Brendan Philbin, brothers Philip and Vincent McGrath, Willie Corduff and Micheál Ó Seighin. Demonstrations took place around the country in the support of the men and the issue was raised in the national parliament, the Oireachtas. After spending 94 days in Cloverhill Prison, they were released on 30 September 2005, when Shell, having been subjected to prolonged opprobrium, applied to the High Court to have the injunction lifted. The previously disparate and fragmented opposition to the project had united during the mens' imprisonment, and became 'Shell to Sea' after their release.
The Shell to Sea campaign continued to call for the route of the pipeline to be changed, as well as the location of the refinery. Rossport Solidarity Camp was deliberately located on the beach at Glengad close to the landfall of the proposed pipeline, at the request of residents of Rossport. In April 2007, in a victory for the campaign, the High Court ruled that Shell cannot use the pipeline route they wanted. Although they now have no stated plan for bringing the gas to the proposed refinery, an optimistic Shell continues construction at Bellinaboy.
A poll conducted by TNS/MRBI on behalf of RTE's Nuacht (the state broadcaster's Irish language news programme) in September 2006 showed widespread support for the Shell to Sea campaign throughout County Mayo [6]. The poll showed that ''"6 in 10 feel the Corrib Gas terminal should be located offshore at sea, with just under one quarter supporting the Bellanaboy option. The offshore alternative has strongest support amongst those aged under 49 years, and those residing in Castlebar/Ballinrobe/ Claremorris and Westport/Belmullet areas."'' The following month Shell resumed work, enabled by An Garda Siochana baton-charging protesters [7], which caused many injuries and some hospitalisations. The threat of Garda violence has resulted in a serious scaling-down of the protests.
Safety reviews
The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey, commissioned a company to produce what was called an "Independent Safety Review" of the pipeline. Hours after the company produced its report, it emerged that it was jointly owned by Shell and British Petroleum. Dempsey, who seemed genuinely ignorant of this, denied the report was compromised but agreed to commission another. The second review was strongly criticised by those opposed to the project for failing to consider alternatives to refining the gas onshore. The authors of the review, Advantica, said:
''“Proper consideration will be given to safety issues in the selection process for the preferred design option and the locations of the landfall, pipeline route and terminal”'' and:
''“Provided that it will be demonstrated that the pressure in the onshore pipeline will be limited effectively, and that the recommendations made somewhere else in this report are followed, we (Advantica) believe that there will be a massive safety margin in the pipeline design, and the pipeline design and proposed route should be accepted as meeting or exceeding international standards in terms of acceptability of risk and international best practice for high pressure pipelines.”''
Another company, Accufacts Inc., also produced a report on the pipeline [8] for the Centre for Public Inquiry, concentrating on the safety aspects and concerns surrounding the issue. It was highly critical of the current plans for the pipeline, and skeptical of the assurances given. The author said:
''"It should be fairly obvious by now that past information on this project has been less than complete. Much of this information appears to be of a propaganda nature intended to spin public relations to an ill informed or misinformed public or government. In today’s information
age this is a tactic fraught with risks as the deceptions are uncovered.
Regarding the proposed onshore pipeline route, serious challenges should be raised as to any risk analysis that fails to adequately address the issues raised by the production pipeline, as the thermal impact zones for this very unique high pressure pipeline are quite large with a high probability of mortality..."''
''"If the Gas Processing Plant site location were to remain as proposed, we advise a reroute of the proposed pipeline incorporating safety buffer zones of 200 metres for dwellings and at least 400 metres for unsheltered individuals."''
''"Placement of a Gas Process Plant on a shallow offshore platform would substantially reduce production pipeline rupture impact zones associated with specific pipeline design modifications. A transmission pipeline from such an offshore facility could be operated at lower pressures, move much higher quality gas, and permit appropriate cleaning and smart pigging programs that would reduce the potential impact zone associated with a gas transmission pipeline failure."''
Other experts have also rubbished Advantica's claims. Some contend that the safety zone around the pipeline should be at least 500 metres (the norm in the United States) from any dwellings [9]. Philip McGrath, jailed for three months for his opposition to the original pipeline route, lives within 70 metres of it.
See also
★ Rossport Five
★ Shell to Sea
★ Rossport Solidarity Camp
★ Controversies surrounding Royal Dutch Shell
★ Royal Dutch Shell safety concerns
★ Shell Nigeria
External links
★ Shell to Sea campaign
★ Centre For Public Inquiry's review of events surrounding the Corrib gas project
★ Technical details of the Corrib project from Shell's offshore-technology.com
★ Technical details of proposed pipeline from Accufacts Inc.
★ Shell's page on Corrib project
★ Mayo Gas Info
★ Advantica's review of onshore pipeline
★ Rossport Solidarity Camp
★ Statoil's page on Corrib field
★ Bitter dispute over gas pipeline — BBC news article on controversy
★ Families' anger as five men are jailed in gas pipeline case — Irish Times article on Rossport Five
★ Rossport men released by High Court — RTÉ News article
★ Buckfastforbreakfast A look at the varied media response to the Corrib controversy.
★ Gas Lads, article from Magill on resources giveaway
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