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January 2016

Corrib Gas Development Lambasted By Authors Of British Engineering Report

By: 
Afloat

#Corrib - A prime example of "how not to undertake a development" – that's how a new planning report by British engineers describes the Corrib gas field project off the Mayo coast, according to The Irish Times.

Posted Date: 
27 January 2016

Corrib gas project formally opened in Mayo amid tight security

By: 
Lorna Siggins & Tom Shiel - Irish Times

Residents say gas flaring recorded on several dates in January despite Shell asurances

Posted Date: 
26 January 2016

Corrib gas a ‘template’ for ‘how not to undertake a development’

By: 
Lorna Siggins - Irish Times


[Shell to Sea] A monument to corruption

British engineers’ group say more democratic approach could have avoided cost overruns

The Corrib gas project is a template for “how not to undertake a development”, according to a new planning approach published by the British Institution of Civil Engineers.

Although the gas project has secured its final Government approval from Minister for Energy Alex White, the prospect of further legal challenges and the large Garda presence at an “invitation-only” opening reflects the fact that it still does not have community consent.

Two of the report’s four authors say that had both Shell and Government agencies adopted a more democratic approach, they could have avoided cost overruns, including “the loss of at least €600 million loss to the tax payer”, and could also have “avoided the serious ensuing conflict with the local community”.

Posted Date: 
26 January 2016

Corrib gas pipeline launched in Mayo

By: 
RTE News

The controversial Corrib Gas pipeline has been officially launched in Co Mayo.

Minister of State at the Department of Natural Resources, Joe McHugh, unveiled a plaque to mark the formal commencement of operations by Shell and its partner oil companies. 

The first gas from the Corrib field was brought ashore at the end of December, following ministerial approval. 

Posted Date: 
26 January 2016

20 years after gas discovery, Corrib opens in north Mayo

By: 
Lorna Siggins - Irish Times

[Shell to Sea] It seems Minister for Energy Alex White is ashamed to show his face with Shell despite doing their bidding and signing off on the final Corrib gas consent on 29th Decemeber, despite a pending judicial review of the EPA licence.

Joe McHugh representing Government at invitation-only event in Belmullet

Colm and Gabielle Henry live at Glengad, Co Mayo. Their home overlooks Sruwaddacon Bay and  the pipeline’s landfall. Photograph: Keith Heneghan  

Colm and Gabielle Henry live at Glengad, Co Mayo. Their home overlooks Sruwaddacon Bay and the pipeline’s landfall. Photograph: Keith Heneghan

 

The €3.5 billion Corrib gas development is due to be opened by Minister of State for Natural Resources Joe McHugh on Monday, almost 20 years after the gas discovery was reported off the north Mayo coast.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny had been earmarked for the invitation-only event, but will be at Downing Street in London. Corrib shareholders Shell, Statoil and Vermillion are hosting a plaque unveiling and lunch in Belmullet, almost 15km from the gas refinery.

While much of the town’s focus is currently on sale of the €13.7 million winning Lotto ticket in Carey’s newsagent, the project opening represents a significant milestone.

It was given final approval by Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Alex White on December 29th, and valves controlling the wells at the field, 83km offshore, were opened on December 30th.

Posted Date: 
25 January 2016

I suspect Patrick Pearse lived his life on the edge of sorrow

By: 
Michael Harding - Irish Times

[Shell to Sea]  It is worth nothing that John O'Donoghue took part in the meeting in January 2005 during which the local group who, for 5 years had no name adopted the name Shell to Sea.

I saw the flares of burning methane off the coast on an iPhone, and it occurred to me that Shell is lucky John O’Donohue isn’t around any more. O’Donohue was a writer, an intellectual warrior with a coach and horses at the ready to charge against industrialists, developers or any multinationals who would plunder mother Earth.

He was once asked what was so important about nature. His answer didn’t focus on ecology or Alpine plants. After all, he was a philosopher, not a scientist. He was concerned with the “given world”, not the “known world”. His feet touched the ground as a child might touch a mother, trusting that the earth around him had been given to him as the outer manifestation of some hidden and sacred mystery. So when asked why it was so important to retain the unspoiled beauty of the coastline, he simply replied that the wilderness along the Atlantic coast was a tabernacle of sacred being.

Posted Date: 
24 January 2016

Norway's Statoil injects €150m into Irish unit behind Corrib gas field

By: 
John Mulligan - Irish Independent

Norway's Statoil has injected €150m into its Irish unit that's a partner in the Corrib gas field, which started flowing last month.

New filings at the Companies Registration Office show that the Norwegian parent stumped up the money last month for Statoil Exploration (Ireland).

Statoil owns a 36.5pc stake in the Corrib field off the west of Ireland.

Shell owns 45pc and Canadian firm Vermilion owns 18.5pc.

The debut gas flow from Corrib was 11 years later than originally anticipated, after the field was discovered in 1996.

Posted Date: 
22 January 2016

Glór Na hAoise, songs of solidarity and resistance, reviewed by Cormac Lally

By: 
Cormac Lally - Bogman's Cannon
 

glor na haoise

 

When you mention Rossport to people in Ireland, responses range from the polemical to the apathetical.  Rossport remains one of the most scandalous political and social injustices occurring on on this island.

Posted Date: 
18 January 2016

Irony of Corrib gas flaring on New Year’s Eve

By: 
Áine Ryan - Mayo News

LIKE THE SUN A still image taken from a recording shows the glow of the flaring at the Corrib Gas Terminal on January 31.

Posted Date: 
12 January 2016

Rear Window: Songs of Solidarity

By: 
teleSUR English - YouTube

"Songs of Solidarity” tells the story of a community in the west of Ireland who have been protesting for 15 years against a gas pipeline through the village of Rossport. This film is about the local community’s fight to protect their land. http://videos.telesurtv.net/en/video/491508/rear-window-491508

Posted Date: 
10 January 2016