Ireland: Shell to Invest Further €800 Million in Corrib Gas Project

Shell E&P Ireland will invest a further €800 million into the Corrib gas field project, located off the northwest coast of Ireland, the Managing Director of Shell Ireland has said.

The investment into the contentious project will sustain 700 direct jobs and 750 indirect jobs, Michael Crothers said today. Half of the investment will be made in a single county of Ireland, Co. Mayo. The Corrib gas field lies 50 to 80 kilometres from the coast of Mayo. The investment will ensure the project will be completed by the end of 2014, Irish national broadcaster RTÉ has reported.

When completed, the project will provide 60 per cent of Ireland's gas needs, the MD said. Currently, Ireland is highly reliant on foreign suppliers of gas, with imports to the country amounting for approximately 90 per cent of Ireland's gas supply. Reserves in the Corrib gas field are estimated to total around one trillion cubic feet.

The investment comes as the Corrib gas field moves into the final phase of its development. This phase will see the construction of a deep sea pipe to the terminal via a second pipeline to be contained in a tunnel under Sruwaddacon Bay, RTÉ reports.

So far, activism has delayed the project, which has been under construction since 2004, as local residents and other protestors have continued to oppose the project. Opponents cite various motivations, especially safety and environmental concerns, as the reason for the protest action.

Shell is the operator of the Corrib gas field, with a 45 per cent stake in the project. Statoil and Vermilion Energy Trust hold the remaining stakes, with a 36.5 per cent stake and an 18.5 per cent stake respectively.