Public Meeting Wynns Hotel Abbey St 8.00pm How Shell robs Corrib Gas And destroys the environment

national | environment | event notice Monday June 13, 2005 17:37 by Martin O'Sullivan - individual martin_osullivan at vodafone dot ie 10 charlemont rd, Clontarf, Dublin3, ireland 0878289243

Public Meeting Wynns Hotel Abbey St 8.00pm How Shell robs Corrib Gas And destroys the environment

Three of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world are involved in a major battle with people in North Mayo. Shell, Marathon and Statoil have formed a consortium to take gas from the Corrib field off the coast of Mayo on terms which bring little benefit to the people of Ireland.

Three of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world are involved in a major battle with people in North Mayo. Shell, Marathon and Statoil have formed a consortium to take gas from the Corrib field off the coast of Mayo on terms which bring little benefit to the people of Ireland.

Tax on oil and gas production in Ireland has been reduced to 25 percent, which is one of the lowest in the world. The companies were also allowed to write off all costs going back for 25 years. (By way of contrast, tax on oil profits in Norway was set at 78 percent.)

The Shell-led consortium has also benefited from considerable state help. The state-owned forestry company Coillte sold off land for a refinery at a price which they refuse to disclose, for reasons of ‘commercial secrecy’. The state owned gas company, Bord Gais, are building a special pipeline to the Corrib field at the cost of €200 million. Special legislation has been put in place to allow for the compulsory acquisition of land and even more bizzarely the ‘independent’ consultancy firm that was hired to do a quantified risk assessment on the proposal is part-owned…. by Shell!

The pipeline which is being built is unique. It is a 9 kilometres long and will transport gas and other trace elements such as mercury, cobalt, selenium and zinc to an inland refinery. Normally the processing of gas is done off shore but to cut costs Shell is transporting it inland. By doing so, the company will save €360 million in capital costs and reduce its operating costs by 40 percent a year.

Local people who will become the neighbours of this pipeline are, however, more than a little concerned. The unprocessed gas will travel at pressures that are far higher than that found anywhere else on the national grid. As the pipeline travels over a boggy surface and makes 90 degree turns, they are concerned about the risk of accidents. They fear that emissions from the refinery and discharges that are sent back out to sea will pollute the natural beauty of their area.

To voice their concerns, local people from the area will travel to Dublin on Monday 20th June for a public meeting on their project. The meeting takes place in Wynn’s Hotel at 8pm and the speakers include Denny Larsen (co-author the Other Shell Report) Padhraig Campbell (SIPTU Offshore Committee, Sister Majella McCarron (Campaigner against Shell in Nigeria) and Maura Harrington (Principal local primary school),

You are invited to attend this meeting to hear about how Shell is robbing our gas and destroying an unspoilt part of Ireland.


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