First gas flows from Shell terminal as protest group calls action ‘disgraceful’

GAS HAS BEGUN to flow through the controversial Corrib gas line off the west coast, with protest groups calling the development “desperate and disgraceful”.

The Shell to Sea protest group, which has been strongly opposed to the development, said that Minister Alex White was wrong to give final permission yesterday for the pipeline to operate between the gas subsea facilities and the terminal at Bellanaboy, Co Mayo.

However, Shell, who built and operate the gas line, said that gas starting to flow from the pipeline was “an important milestone for the country and Shell’s upstream operations.”

Shell issued a statement detailing how the gas will flow from the Corrib gas field through a 20-inch pipeline to the terminal in Bellanaboy, where it will be processed before being transferred to the Gas Networks Ireland network.

Andy Brown, Shell’s upstream international director, said that today’s announcement was a “positive step for our gas portfolio”.

He also said that the development that delivering the gas from Corrib would “bring many long term benefits to the Irish economy and consumers.”

“Economic and infrastructural benefits”

Also supporting the pipeline was the the Irish Offshore Operators’ Association (IOOA), which today welcomed Shell’s announcement.

In a statement the organisation said that the development had already “brought significant economic and infrastructural benefits to the local community in Co. Mayo.”

“This is the first commercial gas field in the Atlantic Margin basins west of Ireland,” the the organisation.

“It is a milestone in Ireland’s energy security.”