I n the oil and gas business there are times when projects come to a standstill or even halt altogether. Something along those lines has happened to Royal Dutch Shell PLC in Ireland.
Readers of this column will not need reminding of Shell’s Corrib gas project, and all of the controversy surrounding it over the past several years.
It seems Shell has decided to push the pause button for the time being.
In fact, Ireland’s planning board, An Bord Pleanala, last week announced that Shell EP Ireland has withdrawn its planning application for a modified onshore pipeline for the Corrib gas project. Shell did not comment on the decision, but sources close to the project told the Irish Times that a revised application under the fast-tracking legislation would be lodged in the new year.
Additional information sought
An Bord Pleanala had been seeking crucial additional information from the Corrib gas developers on the new pipeline route, which was modified as a result of a recommendation by government mediator Peter Cassells.
Last August, the board gave the developers 6 weeks to provide additional information regarding the development’s impact on the stability of ground in the area, on its environmental impact, and the impact of any extension of the life of wellfields.
An Bord Pleanala also sought reports on a post-landslide site at Derrybrien wind farm in Co Galway, as referred to in the company’s environmental impact statement.
The proposed 9-km, high-pressure pipeline route extends from a landfall at Glengad under Dooncarton mountain, where there was a series of landslides in September 2003.
Sources close to the company said a combination of factors had influenced the decision to withdraw the current application. Among them is a delay until next year in laying the offshore pipeline, and a recent direction that disposal of peat unearthed in any pipe-laying must be incorporated in any planning application.
No overall delay
Sources said this allowed for time to submit a fresh application, along with the same environmental impact statement. There would be “no overall delay” to the project as a result.
It also is understood that there will be no fundamental change to the modified route, but the Irish Times said there will be some “adjustments,” described as “minor,” in the new application.
But don’t expect the controversy to die down.
To allay public concerns, Shell consultants RPS said that “a revised application will now seek minor realignments to part of the proposed route for the Corrib onshore pipeline, in order to avoid more sensitive habitat, including bog pools, in the Rossport commonage, identified during recent surveys.”
That did not satisfy opponents.
In fact, spokesman for community group Pobal Chill Chomain, John Monaghan, questioned how such surveys had been undertaken since there was a District Court order preventing Shell from carrying out such invasive works in the commonage.
