I reland's oil and gas industry has been out of the news for a while, but its back as disagreement continues in County Mayo over Royal Dutch Shell PLC's Corrib gas pipeline project.
Irish planning officials were due to release their decision on Aug. 10 concerning Shell's application to change the route of the onshore section of the Corrib gas pipeline, but they deferred the decision to a later date.
An Bord Pleanla said the complexity of the case had held up the inspector's report, which is expected to run into hundreds of pages, and that a new date of Oct. 23 has been set for the decision—although it could come sooner.
The announcement came just a day or two ahead of a report by monitoring consultants for Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan that the spillage of a chemical additive and some oil during construction at the Corrib gas landfall had "no ecological impact."
Spillage reported
For its part, Shell EP Ireland said a full incident report "is being completed" into the accidental spillage of a "mixture of liquids, including corrosion inhibitor dye" at the landfall works site at Glengad on July 29.
The spillage, estimated at 20 l. by EirEco, the Minister's environmental consultant, and at 15 l. by Shell, flushed into a fully enclosed trench where it mixed with rainwater.
Shell said an environmental response team pumped the liquid out of the trench into sealed containers, which were removed to a waste facility and that the liquid is biodegradable.
The chemical additive is used as part of hydrotesting of the 83 km offshore pipeline, which has now been laid in full from Glengad out to the manifold at the Corrib gas field.
Protestors jailed
While one accepts the government's explanation of "complexity" as the reason for delaying its decision over the Corrib line, news of the spillage would not have helped Shell's cause at all, especially given the jailing of local protestors at the same time.
That came on July 31, when so-called Shell to Sea campaigners Maura Harrington and Niall Harnett were sentenced at Bellmulet District Court to 4 months each in jail for failing to comply with the directions of a garda or policeman.
Harnett was sentenced to an additional 4-month period after assaulting a garda last year at Glengad.
Meanwhile, several other protestors are awaiting sentence, with more than 50 people estimated to have recently come before the courts, or are due to, in connection with the protest campaign.
Shell to Sea spokesman Terrence Conway said, "The increased pressure from the state in support of Shell will not stop opposition to this pipeline. If they get away with this behavior then no community in the country will be safe from such activity."
There can be little doubt that the protests will continue. We'll report back when An Bord Pleanla reaches its decision over the line.
