Permission has been granted for construction of the final nine kilometres of the Corrib Gas Pipeline in Ireland.
The final stretch of the pipeline will bring gas onshore from the Corrib Gas Field, located 83 kilometres off Ireland’s north-west coast. The onshore section of pipeline will be underground along its entire route, linking the end of the offshore pipeline at Glengad to the gas terminal at Bellanaboy, County Mayo.
Permission was granted by Ireland’s planning board, An Bord Pleanála.
Ireland’s energy minister Eamon Ryan is expected to issue a decision shortly on Shell E&P Ireland's application to construct the nine kilometre stretch. If Shell secures approval, the pipeline is expected to take between 18 and 24 months to build. It is thought the project could provide around 1,000 jobs.
Commenting, Terry Nolan, managing director of Shell E&P Ireland, said: “We are pleased with the decision of An Bord Pleanála to grant permission for the Corrib onshore gas pipeline. We believe this decision is good for Mayo and Ireland.”
Five wells at the Corrib Field and the offshore pipeline are already in place, with the terminal at Bellanaboy also nearing completion.
Gas from Corrib could be flowing into the national grid as early as 2013.
Ireland currently imports 96 per cent of its gas supplies from Europe via an interconnector pipeline from the UK. According to Shell, the Corrib Field has the potential to supply up to 60 per cent of Ireland’s gas needs at peak production.
The pipeline is also intended to secure Ireland’s gas supply in the event of political instability or an interruption of Russian gas supplies to Europe.
The Corrib Field was discovered in 1996 by Enterprise Energy Ireland, which was subsequently acquired by Shell E&P Ireland in 2002. Shell E&P Ireland is the operator, with a 45 per cent stake. The other partners in the project are Statoil Exploration (Ireland) with 36.5 per cent and Vermilion Energy with 18.5 per cent.
