Shell E&P Ireland has moved to seek a High Court injunction against seven Co Mayo landowners who are opposing work on the Corrib gas pipeline route.
The multinational has set March 14th for the application, and served formal notice papers on seven landowners at the weekend, with a deadline of Thursday next for response.
The seven, who own 50 per cent of the land required for the route, have voiced concerns about the health and safety aspects of the pipeline.
Last month, Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey acknowledged in the Dáil that the pipeline design was "unique both in Ireland and Europe". The Health and Safety Authority has said the pipeline is beyond its remit.
In its affidavit, the company alleges that its engineer was "pushed" by the one of the landowners during a second attempt to gain access to the lands on March 1st.
The company says it has received all necessary approval for compulsory acquisition according to orders signed by former marine minister Frank Fahey in 2002.
Shell E&P Ireland also claims it will incur costs of €25,000 a day if the contract work, already signed for, cannot begin by June 1st this year, as a result of delays in the preliminary work on the routing to the proposed terminal or refinery at Bellanaboy. It says if construction is delayed until next year it will incur a remobilisation fee of about €2.5 million.
The company said yesterday it regretted that this course of action was required as "all other means have been exhausted", and said it would "continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders".
Spokeswoman for the Erris residents Maura Harrington said the company was engaging in "scare tactics" and had tried to provoke the landowners during attempted access to the lands. The cited delay costs were minimal for a multinational which had recently filed record profits equivalent to £1 million an hour.
Mayo Independent TD Dr Jerry Cowley has called for an independent quantified risk assessment (QRA) of the proposed pipeline before any further work takes place, a request already turned down by Mr Dempsey. The Minister claims his department has assessed the QRA carried out by Corrib's former owners, Enterprise Energy Ireland.
Shell told Dr Cowley last Friday it would release a "non-technical summary" of its report.
"If viewed in isolation, the report may be misunderstood and could be selectively used, misrepresented and potentially taken out of context," the company said in a statement.
However, Dr Cowley has called for the whole document to be published as a gesture of goodwill to the residents. "Shell are treating the people of Erris as imbeciles and with mistrust."
The latest court action is the second involving the company and the €900 million project. Two residents have already sought High Court injunctions over the projects planning aspects.
