Gas pipeline won't help Mayo; No Jobs For All; National Issue

national | environment | other press

Sunday July 23, 2006 15:56

by Shell to Sea

c/o 134 Phibsborough Road Dublin 7

o87 132 3369

Shell to Sea Letters to the Sunday Times

An article published in the Sunday Times last week recounted the ending of the mediation, when Peter Cassells wrote to the Rossport Five to say he could find no basis for a settlement between the consortium of multi-national companies who want to force a dangerous experimental pipeline through Rossport and the five men, who with their families, friends and supporters have campaigned for the gas from the Corrib field to be processed offshore. The article was broadly factual, while showed a tendency to look at the situation from the point of view of big business and government, which is of course to be expected form a newspaper like the ST.

What was interesting was an editorial published in the same edition, which tried to present as fact a complete misrepresention of the controversial pipeline/refinery scheme,while attempting to smear the campaign against it as a local dispute which had been "hijacked' by Sinn Féin.

Below are the letters sent in to counteract these views.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2091-2281362.html

Letters to the Editor:
GAS PIPELINE WON"T HELP MAYO
You suggest Mayo will lose out if the current difficulties with the Corrib gas pipeline are unresolved (Editorial, last week). While I agree that aspects of the protest have unfortunately been hijacked, I find it difficult to embrace the supposed benefits suggested by Shell and echoed by yourselves and our own local authority.

Yes there has been some short-term employment and windfalls for local construction works. Some landowners have been compensated for access to their lands and will continue to receive ground rent after the project’s completion. Shell says 30 to 50 jobs will be created at the Bellanaboy terminal, and it has contributed to the coffers of Mayo county council for the upgrading of a stretch of road on which thousands of tonnes of peat are being transported for the clearing of the Bellanaboy site.

But for the majority, the pipeline is merely passing through our county taking gas to other parts of the country without being piped to any of our own towns or fuelling any local industry. The most tangible evidence of the pipeline’s progress are the miles of potholed roads.

Peter Jordan
Castlebar, Co Mayo

NO JOBS FOR ALL
Your prediction of “hundreds” of jobs is off by, well, several hundred. Operation of the terminal requires 60 staff working three shifts, which would explain the facility’s car park having only 25 spaces. As most of these positions will be highly specialised, few will be filled by Mayo residents.

The stalemate is not due to new and extravagant demands by the Shell to Sea campaign group. Moving the refinery offshore has always been its primary goal. As reports by Advantica and the Centre for Public Inquiry show, the pipeline is too dangerous to be acceptable. You label protesters as “left-wingers” and other dastardly terms. Support for Shell to Sea spans virtually all Irish political parties. Support comes from the everyday Irish who recognise a threat, who insist on fair play with their natural resources and who refuse to be steamrollered by multinationals.

Dennis Desmond
Dublin

NATIONAL ISSUE
You refer to “the infiltration of the Mayo protests by Sinn Fein activists, self-styled eco-warriors and professional protesters from outside the area”. I wouldn’t call it infiltration. A recent table quiz held in Dublin to raise money for the Shell to Sea campaign had rounds sponsored by the Labour party, the Workers party, the Socialist party, the Amalgamated Transport & General Workers Union, the Independent Workers Union, Eirigi, the Irish Socialist Network, Siptu and Sinn Fein. Prizes were donated by businesses all over Dublin.

The Shell to Sea campaign is not simply about a multinational company putting its profits before the safety concerns of the local community, but also the desire of the Irish people to get a fair deal from the exploitation of their natural resources.

Brid Ni Sheighin
Rossport, Co Mayo

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Comments (4 of 4)

Classical Gas,Constitutional Enquiry

by Flynn - agrescon@agrescon.nl

Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:35

agrescon at agrescon dot nl

0031102102055

There is so much involved in all of this affair that nothing short of a Constitutional expose,should be called for. Eire did not throw off the Yoke of Monarchy,s to be ensnared by Corporate Greed, or by Political Incompetance, or by corruption,or indeed Government by Multinationals,or by Government from another Country. Remember this Ireland, is a Soveriegn Nation, a Republic with a written Constitution and where it cannot be produced then it does,nt Exist, from the air you breath, to the water you drink, from the fish around our shores, to the minerals under our feet ,all belong to the Indigenous People of Erin. We are the custodians of these resources, for our Childrens, Childrens, Children, and Yes best beloved Contrymen we have a written Constitution to Prove our Case.Or are we now led to Believe only the Rossport Five, are at the Barracade defending the Constitution of the Republic of Eire , from the machinations of a Legion of Political Imberciles? Flynn O Flynn.

Let's get something straight

by Mr Reality

Sun Aug 27, 2006 11:05

It's not a refinery, it's a GAS TERMINAL. Now - who amoungst the local 'experts' can tell me the difference between the two!?

Perhaps Shell should have went to this workshop

by Mark - Jack White's Shell Watch

Sun Aug 27, 2006 15:56

It seems that OFFSHORE Gas terminals have alot going for them...So have Shell been telling porkies again!!!!!

LNG Terminal Summit 2006
World class commercial, technical and operational strategies for developing successful LNG terminal projects
March 28 - 29, 2006 · Grand Copthorne Waterfront, Singapore,

# 13.00-16.00 · Workshop B: Challenges And Solutions Involved In Adopting Offshore Terminals – A Roadmap To FSRUs

LNG has up to today only played a speculative role in the development of offshore fields. Offshore LNG technology, as well, has not been demonstrated to its claimed merits. Now floating LNG facilities are gaining operators’ attention. There are several drivers promoting offshore LNG production and storage such as the need to stop routine flaring, cleaner transportation fuels, lower LNG production costs and safety and security of the natural gas supplies, among many others. This workshop will equip you with the tools and tips to tap into an area where the LNG industry is moving towards and derive its potential returns successfully.
# What can we learn from other industries about successful adoption of new technologies?
# How can you use risk based methods to proactively identify shortcomings (and opportunities) that may have otherwise gone unnoticed?
# Key challenges for offshore LNG FPS: Space and weight requirements, ease of operation/ start-up/ shutdown, required flexibility for natural gas composition and vessel motions
# Effective programs for optimising safety

Attend this workshop and return to your organisation with:
# Technological advances resulting in facility designs and how they can allow for post-depletion move to new economical fields
# Techniques to unlock offshore gas reserves without the need to invest in capital intensive infrastructure
# Ways to effectively reduce the risk exposure to the public

Andre Dutter
Vice President – Marketing & Sales
SINGLE BUOY MOORINGS

Workshop Leader
Andre joined SBM in 1980 and has over 25 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He has been predominantly involved in offshore activities and also played a significant role in the development of SBM’s first FPSO. He has undertaken many roles such as Project Manager, Senior Project Manager and Company Director and has currently 30 offshore projects under him, with five of them being LNG projects.

http://www.iqpc.com.sg/cgi-bin/templates/document.html?...ID=4&

Right to Reply

Sun Aug 27, 2006 16:55

Great report Mr Reality, Other examples are The Milford Haven Project in Wales the biggest in Europe exported from Quatar by Ship,to storage in Gloustershire undergtround . Irish LPG via Pipeline to the North Sea Feeder Network alledgedly for the Europeans, Syphoned off midway and deposited at Middlewich Cheshire by Italian Firm Ineos, Bellasconi, Blair, Bilderberg group. No one can despute the Tonnage of Ships, the Quantity or the Capacity, one can defraud the Piping System easily With Charles Law,and Boyles Law, and the Laws of Viscosity, and the Laws of Isotropic Expansion. Eire is about to get Ripped OFF Big Style. The saftey issue is self explanitary. However the real RUB is that this is all against the Constitution Of Ireland, How is this Possible? FlynnO Flynn

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Gas pipeline won't help Mayo; No Jobs For All; National Issue

Comments (4 of 4)