Madam, - Certain claims in relation to the Corrib gas field have been made in recent letters to which Shell would like to respond.
In regard to the letter from Mr Grimes (Dec. 1st) the site for the proposed onshore gas terminal at Bellanaboy, Co Mayo, was selected following exhaustive studies of potential sites along the west coast. We completely reject claims that our proposals are in anyway "dirty processing". In fact Corrib has been designed to take advantage of the latest subsea technology, allowing us to avoid the safety and environmental issues which arise with the development of an offshore installation, particularly in difficult waters like those of the west coast.
The gas in the Corrib field is a very clean, natural fuel and is composed mainly of methane, the lightest hydrocarbon gas.
The only requirement will be the removal of some naturally occurring liquids (condensate and water) to satisfy Bord Gáis Éireann's specifications for gas in the national grid.
In recent months, Shell has considered in detail the options facing the Corrib project following An Bord Pleanála's rejection in April of an application for planning permission to construct the gas terminal on the Bellanaboy site. Following extensive consultation with a wide range of national and local stakeholders, Shell remains confident that the original site selection of Bellanaboy is the right choice. We believe that our new proposals, which have been developed with Bord na Móna, will address any concerns that remain in regard to the management of peat on the site.
In response to Ms Muller's letter (Dec. 11th) regarding the value of the Corrib field, I would like to clarify the position. When Shell acquired Enterprise Oil for £3.5 billion it acquired all of the then company's substantial operations in the North Sea, Italy, Norway, Brazil and Denmark, among others.
Enterprise Energy Ireland, operating in Ireland, was a small subsidiary of the overall company and it is therefore completely incorrect to state that the value of Corrib is directly linked to the takeover value. - Yours etc.,
ANDY PYLE, Managing Director, Shell E&P Ireland Ltd, Corrib House, Lower Leeson St, Dublin.