OPINION:Well-intentioned suggestions that Shell relocate the Mayo gas processing terminal are completely unrealistic, writes Terry Nolan
IN OCTOBER 2006, five months after I joined Shell in Ireland, I wrote a piece in The Irish Times that outlined my vision for the Corrib Gas project. My vision then was for Corrib to be developed as a modern and efficient gas project operating to the very highest health and safety standards and supplying 60 per cent of Ireland's gas needs. I hoped some day that the Corrib project would be managed and run by Irish people supported by Shell's international organisation and global technical expertise.
Moreover, however, I stated that my vision was that Shell would be an accepted and welcome part of the local community in Mayo.
When I wrote that article, there was only a handful of people employed by Shell in Mayo and there was undoubtedly a lack of trust between ourselves and the local community. No construction work had taken place for over a year.
We had acknowledged publicly that we had not handled local concerns around safety in the way we should have, and we were working hard to change this and to listen to, and address, local issues. We had agreed to move the onshore pipeline further from local housing to address concerns and had promised a transparent and inclusive public engagement process to identify a new route. We had promised to bring more benefits to the local community but had not yet delivered.
Actions speak louder than words. Today, nearly 700 people are employed in northwest Mayo constructing the Corrib gas processing terminal, which is the largest construction site in Ireland. In the coming weeks this number will rise to over 800. Over 60 per cent of those employed are from Mayo.
A new pipeline route, twice as far from housing as the originally approved route, was identified. It is 140 metres from the nearest house and is, on average, nearly 300 metres from housing. To put that in context, most people who live in cities or towns, attached to the natural gas network, probably live a lot closer to high pressure gas transmission pipelines - in some cases just a few metres away. In addition to this, the pressure in the pipeline has been reduced to less than half the original design pressure.
The crux of the Corrib problem, as I stated in 2006, is not safety. It was always about a lack of dialogue and trust. Those who objected to the project state that the problem is one of community consent. Indeed, I myself have stated that landowner consent, and community acceptance, are the key to the success of this project.
So has this really changed? Only those people who live and work in Erris can truly answer that question, but, as someone who has lived in Erris for the past two years, I can make some informed observations.
As part of the identification of a new pipeline route we carried out 11 months of public consultation, which told us that people were concerned about the proximity of the pipeline to housing and about protecting the environment.
The proposed pipeline route strikes the best balance between the community concerns, the environmental issues and the technical constraints. It was chosen following a rigorous process examining all options. The route may not be perfect in everyone's eyes. There is no perfect route.
We have done our very best, through continuous dialogue, to get the consent of the individual landowners. The majority, perhaps even the vast majority, of individual landowners are consenting. The pipeline will traverse an area of commonage in which there are over 100 shareholders and interested parties. Not all of these people are consenting.
Getting 100 per cent consent is always the ideal situation on any infrastructure project, as Bord Gáis or the National Roads Authority will tell you. It is rarely, if ever, a reality.
In the case of Corrib, this is not for want of trying. I have personally spent a huge amount of time and effort listening to local landowners and the community. I wish I could say that we had full consent, but I can't.
However, I can guarantee that I have done everything within my power to achieve as much consent as possible.
We have done our very best to listen and act on local concerns, while at the same time recognising that this project is crucial for Ireland as a whole. We currently import almost 90 per cent of our gas needs and are one of the most exposed countries in Europe in terms of energy dependence.
I have spent over 30 years working for Shell around the world and, as a Co Carlow native, I was delighted to come home and work on this strategically important project.
It has been much more difficult than I imagined and it is with huge personal regret that I acknowledge the deep divisions that this project has caused in Erris, and particularly in the parish of Kilcommon.
During the time I have lived in Erris I have made many great friends, and my team and I have built many good relationships with people in the local community. Without these relationships and without the support of the locals, we would not have 700 people working on the terminal site, 250 of them from Erris itself.
We launched a scholarship programme with the local secondary schools last year. The applications for this programme have doubled in a single year. Without community support our funding of the local GAA club last year would not have been accepted openly and with pride on both sides, nor would 80 local clubs and voluntary organisations in Erris have applied for support through our local grants scheme.
I firmly believe that we have taken every reasonable step to address the genuine safety concerns that existed and, for many people in Erris, time and our actions have made us a more acceptable part of the community.
There is undoubtedly more dialogue and trust than there had been previously. There are still huge challenges ahead, but I think we're moving in the right direction.
This week marked the beginning of the last phase in constructing the Corrib gas project. We lodged applications with the relevant authorities for the new pipeline route.
A period of statutory public consultation will commence next week. The decisions are now in the hands of the independent State bodies who will assess both our application and any issues raised by the public.
We have an existing consent, gained through the appropriate statutory process, to construct the pipeline on the original route.
We have, at considerable cost and delays to delivering the gas, agreed to move the pipeline, to address local concerns.
This week there were well-intentioned suggestions that the gas processing terminal should be moved. The terminal received full planning permission from Mayo County Council in 2004 following a lengthy planning process. The terminal will be 80 per cent complete at the end of this year.
There are close to 1,000 tonnes of steelwork already in place on the site and nearly eight kilometres of pipework already installed. Any of the 500 people from the local area who have visited the site in the past year will confirm the huge scale of the construction operation that is well under way.
They will also tell you of the huge emphasis that we place on health and safety, and I am personally extremely proud of the work that is being carried out to the highest safety standards. As citizens, we put our faith in the Government that we elect and the statutory bodies of the State. We all live with the decisions that they make. This project has been through due process and has all of the relevant planning permissions and consents.
Any suggestions that the terminal site be moved are not only completely unrealistic, but they challenge the very basis of our democratic system. They challenge the certainty of process that makes Ireland an attractive place to do business, and they have no bearing on the original concerns around the safety of the pipeline.
In conclusion, has my vision of Shell being an accepted and welcome part of the community become a reality? Not fully. But I believe we are on the right path.
Will this vision ever be fully realised? Only time will tell. But I am confident that compared to two years ago, many more people in Erris today accept us, and perhaps even welcome us.
I hope that in another two years, when gas from the Corrib field is fuelling homes and businesses around the country, that we will have shown - through our actions and safe delivery of the Corrib project - that this vision will be well on the way to being a reality.
Terry Nolan is deputy managing director of Shell EP Ireland. He was appointed yesterday to succeed managing director Andy Pyle on his retirement at the end of this month, after 32 years with the company