Corrib Gas Field

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The Corrib Gas Field is 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, is the first commercial natural gas discovery in Ireland since the Kinsale gas field in 1973. It will produce gas from Triassic strata. 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%).

It is 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, however many people are concerned about the helath, safety and environmental impact of the onshore aspects of the scheme.

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 Bridge, Co. Mayo.

1 Controversy
2 Safety Review by the Irish Government
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Controversy

The proposed project is the subject of controversy as it would be undertaken in a populated area. The village of Rossport is located nearby and some homes are located less than 200 metres from the intended path of the pipeline (with a road running within 90m of it).

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 prohibiting them from blocking site access. The five men are: James Brendan Philbin, brothers Philip and Vincent McGrath, Willie Corduff and Micheál Ó Seighin. Demonstrations took place around the country in 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 applied to the High Court to have the injunction lifted.

The Shell To Sea campaign continues to call for the route of the pipeline to be changed as well as the location of the refinery. Rossport Solidarity Camp is located on the landfall of the proposed pipeline, on the beach at Glengad at the request of residents of Rossport, opposing the construction of a high pressure gas pipeline and inland gas refinery in their area.

[edit] Safety Review by the Irish Government

The Irish Government Minister of Energy, Noel Dempsey, commissioned an Independent Safety Review of the pipeline. The review has been strongly criticised by those opposed to the project. The authors of the review, Advantica, concluded that:

“Proper consideration was 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 can be demonstrated that the pressure in the onshore pipeline will be limited effectively, and that the recommendations made elsewhere in this report are followed, we (Advantica) believe that there will be a substantial 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.”

Minister Dempsey also appointed an independent mediator to work with the Rossport 5 and Shell to come to a compromise. No solution has so far been found.