Shell in Mayo - What's the story??? - A talk in the University of Limerick

mayo | environment | opinion/analysis Saturday March 26, 2005 01:35 by St.John

Last Tuesday, the Environmental Society hosted a talk on
the issue of the exploitation of the Erris Gas Field off
Co. Mayo. Here is a brief explanation of a fascinating and
eye-opening talk...

There were three speakers involved in the talk, and the
first to step up was Maura Harrington, the principal of a
local primary school, and, in her own words, an 'Indigenous
Stakeholder' in the area. She is a vociferous opponent of
the development, for a wide range of reasons, from concerns
for the community, the environment and the economy, and
these will become clearer as the story unfolds. She opened
with a powerful example of the hypocrisy of our elected
representatives with regard to the development. She showed
us a Press Release from the Dept. of the Taoiseach, dated
the 4th of October, 2000. But, as it turns out, the
planning process, which includes a public consultation
section, didn't begin until November of that year - the
project was presented as a fait accompli, a fact that the
then Minister, Frank Fahey, reacted badly to when it was
presented to him by Ms. Harrington. Incidentally, Mr. Fahey
was embarrassed when a letter was acquired by Goldhawk of
the Phoenix magazine under the Freedom of Information Act,
which detailed Mr. Fahey's request to Shell that the
pipeline be directed via Galway, which just happens to be
Mr. Fahey's home constituency - coincidence?...
A strong sense of being wronged, and dismissed as
ignorant country people, permeated Ms. Harrington's talk, a
feeling which she explained is widespread in the locality.
Another thing that's being ignored is the environment: the
Special Area of Conservation that is Broadhaven Bay (where
the pipeline and terminal are to be located) is violated;
algal blooms have appeared for the first time in recent
years on Carrowmore Lake; that is, since Shell arrived -
due to their civil engineering this lake, which is
protected under the European Habitat's directive, is being
degraded, fishing has also suffered from this; Pollatomish
Bog has been proposed as a National Heritage Area - this is
the same Pollatomish Bog which saw massive landslides last
winter - funny that, as Pádraig Campbell noted, the only
mountain out of numerous hundreds in the West of Ireland
where there were landslides during that storm also happened
to be the only one where major construction had taken place
in the preceding months...coincidence? The Environmental
Impact Statements that have been issued have been
universally pro-development (no surprise from the rubber-
stampers then), despite all this early evidence (major
construction hasn't even begun yet!!!), and the fact that
the Bog is an unknown quantity - which has already
accounted for at least one mechanical digger!!!
From an economic point of view the development is
equally insane. The Erris Gas field is estimated by
independent analysts to contain 7 trillion cubic feet of
gas, which would be worth in the region of 21 billion euro.
While Shell deny its size, saying it's only roughly a tenth
of this size, experienced rig workers who have worked on
site also estimate of a massive find.
Consider the Norwegian example for a moment, in
order to starkly highlight the insanity of the current
deal. Oil companies in Norway pay 78% tax, and must help
provide local services, while the world average is 40%
(including oil dictatorships). The Irish government have
been even more generous: the tax rate for gas exploitation
is ONLY 25% in Ireland, with generous write-offs AND the
infrastructure is being supplied AND Compulsory Purchase
Orders have been used for the first time for a private
company AND the provision of hundreds of acres of land
formerly owned by Coillte AND the acceptance of liability
for any problems with the pipeline. Or I should say that
they have been very generous with taxpayers money.And for
all this, we get the privilege to buy Ireland's gas from
Shell, via their connection to the European gas grid!
A succession of the luminaries of Irish
politics lowered the potential benefits for Ireland from
any resource finds, names like Ray Burke and Michael Lowery
stand out, while the request from Frank Fahey detailed
above reads like something from a tribunal. Another
significant name that crops up in the systematic giveaway
is the current Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. Coincidence? The
opposition to this is summed up in the words of a local
resident of the Erris area, who said "I don't want to be
part of the nation's robbery through my front yard".
In terms of community, there are also a number of
areas of contention. International practice would dictate
that a refinery at the point where the gas reaches land is
the norm, but this hasn't happened in the case of the Shell
refinery at Erris. Instead it has been places 9 kilometres
inland, at the 500 acre site mentioned above. This huge
site is necessary to accommodate the expansion that Shell
will need for this massive find (whose size they have yet
to admit to). The problems that come with this are the fact
that an extremely high pressure (by international
standards), and also an experimental, gas pipe, containing
gas which has yet to be odourised for safety, and cutting
swathes accross people's land. Clean offshore drilling is
possible, but apparently not here... The majority (of
the quite small number) of the jobs created will go to
people from outside the area. And to return to the subject
of odour's, Pádraig Campbell, who has worked on one, says
gas refineries stink!!!
So, what are the alternatives for this area, or
is this article just going to bitch and moan about the
problems? Well, the answer is that there are many
alternatives, which should work in tandem with one another.
The Norwegian example is an obvious one to follow - simply
allowing Irish people to benefit from our natural resources
surely isn't too much to ask!? A reasonable level of tax
and a say in the exploitation, instead of "the organised
rip off of a nation's resources, without a struggle,
without a fight". Benefits for the local area are also
crucial to any plan. Fishing is an important local
business, and tourism has unbelievable potential, in this
most unspoiled of locations - apparently now the old maxim
that 'you can't eat the scenery' is being disproved.
The importance of helping people in their local
struggles is paramount in any environmental action, and to
this end the Environmental Society hopes to travel to Erris
to take part in a solidarity camp at the beginning of June
to show solidarity and support for their campaign, and to
act as observers as to the propriety, or otherwise, of
Shell in the area. If you want to join us, send an email to
ulenvirosoc@care2.com , and for more info, check out
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.phpstory_id=68991&results_offset=30
http://corribsos.com/test/
http://www.irishoil.net