" . . Ridden Roughshod Over By The Might Of Shell, The Irish State . . "
mayo |
environment |
feature
Tuesday April 05, 2005 20:23
by William
Letter To Norwegian Ambassador Regarding Shell/Statoil Operations In Mayo
FROM: Padhraig Campbell, Campaign for Protection of Resources, Freeport, Barna, Co Galway / Majella McCarron, Ogoni Solidarity Ireland
TO: His Excellency the Norwegian Ambassador, Mr Truls Hanevold, Norwegian Embassy, Dublin 2
Monday, 4th April, 2005
Your Excellency,
We are writing to you in support of the landowners and stake-holders affected by the operational activities of the Corrib North Consortium of Shell, Statoil and Marathon.
As the Norwegian government currently owns 70% of Statoil, we call on your government to instruct the board of Statoil to stop the coercive intrusion on the lands of families who are being hauled before the High Court in Dublin by Shell on behalf of the consortium of which Statoil is a member.
The genuine fears and concerns of the residents are being ridden roughshod over by the might of Shell, the Irish state, local authorities, semi-state bodies and the judicial process. Apart from the unprecedented use of an upstream pipeline so far inshore to a seriously unsafe proposed refinery, untreated raw gas at maximum pressure puts the lives and livelihoods of those families in serious danger.
Allied to this is the fact that this high-pressure line passes under the highly-unstable landslide zone of Dooncarton Mountain, where landslides occured on the night of 19th September, 2003.
This pipeline would not be allowed in Norway. We insist that the same standards that apply in Norway apply in Rossport, Co Mayo and in Ireland generally. Statoil and the Norwegian people will be the beneficiaries of the most generous tax deal in the world. However, serious questions are being asked as to how the oil companies have come to benefit from such an extent and as to the role that Ireland's former Energy Minister, the now disgraced Ray Burke, had in forming the oil tax deal that now pertains.
Respectfully,
Padhraig Campbell
Majella McCarron
BACKGROUND / RELATED LINKS
Shell Granted Restraining Order Against Mayo Residents By High Court
Comprehensive High Court Report
Mid-West Radio Audio Report On Residents Confronting Shell: March 1st 2005
Shell In Mayo: Summary Of Issues
Detailed Indymedia Feature: Shell: The New Aristocracy In Mayo
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Comments (11 of 11)
Jump To Comment: 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1It may be useful to explain and eventually label the map presented. The map shows the village of Rossport almost in full.
To the north the greyish area is bog and to the south the blackish area is the sea. The white lines show public roads. The green area lying between the black and the grey is hand reclaimed bog which is farmland supporting feeding for animals and upon which rests several houses. The blue line is the proposed pipeline route and the black lines are the outer demarcations inside which Shell is supposed to work in laying the pipiline. Most green areas are about 100 yards long- from the public road sloping to the sea. The pipeline path is through the only reclaimed green fertile area and ends up in another green space where it will replace an area of forest close to several water courses. A larger map of Erris will show few green spaces in extensive swathes of bog. The pipeline and terminal will disturb the bay, the rivers and the green areas.
At the present time landowners in Rossport are concerned about pipeline safety. For those of us who wish to be informed further on the matter I suggest you make an entry :The Pipeline Safety Trust. This grew out of an explosion which killed three teenagers in 1999. The parents formed an advocacy group with 4$ from the fine of 15$ imposed on Shell by the judge. Three of the technicians responsible for care of the pipeline were sentenced and two served time in prison. The Company paid 7$ in damages and at that point declared bankruptcy. The town of Bellingham where this happened sits close to Bellingham Bay, in Washington State on the West of the US. The share of the fine mandated by the judge to the advocacy group has led to a full and ongoing review of pipeline safety all over the US in the last 5 years. There is a 99% chance of a crack, rupture in any 20 year period.
State care of piplines in an imperative. What structures does the Irish State heve in place to protect the people and property of Rossport? Please ask this quesion from the Minister of the Marine...!
go dtachtfar fear nó bean ar bith a deireann 'go maire Shell' sa teanga ársa seo 'tá beo beathach fós 'nár gceantar...
smalladh go dtí diabhal ort a phleidhce
A chníopaire gan mhaith. Níl splaideog céille agat, a lúdramáin.
There is no obligation on Shell Oil or any of the consortium to supply any of the gas to the national grid. Rather than bring NW Mayo into the Industrial age it will transform the area into the type of Environmental disaster zone one associates with industrial chemical plants in the former Soviet Union and Eastrern Block countries.
The Irish state has sold all interest in the field for a proverbial song. How is it that the Norwegian state can manage to protect their assets and resources in the North Sea and we can't protect ours in the Atlantic?
Environmental standards will be negligible. If they were not the gas would be refined at Sea - the safest and cleanest place for this to happen.
There is probably as much kinetic wind energy in NW Mayo as is in the Corrib Gas Field. If your beloved state cared about devolopment there, they would move on that front.
Is trua le rá go bhfuil dul amú mór ort a Shéainín. Níl aon dúlgas ar na comhlachtaí aon fostaíocht a chuir ar fáil do daoine áitiúl in aon chor. Níl ins an beartas seo ach gadaíocht. Gadaíocht an gas ó muintir na hÉireann, gadaíocht an airgead a gheobhfar don gas ó stát na hÉireann agus gadaíocht ó nadúr iar thuaiscirt Mhaigh Éo.
Ní dheanfaigh sé aon dochair duit fiosrú a dhéanamh ar an modh ina eirigh le Shell Oil maireachtáil slán i Nigeria. Feic:
Greetings John.
I think the big issue for the residents of North Mayo - near Belmullet - is their safety. The gas is brought on shore is very high pressure pipes. There is no past experience anywhere in the world of this method of carrying gas with no max pressure through land to a refinery inland - usually these are located on shore....
There are no standards are guidelines for this design to adhere to. Who can ensure the safety of the residents and farmers in the area?
Do the people in this part of the world want to live in a modern industrial country or not? If they don't, then fine. But, in that case how about disconnecting them from the national grid and banning the use of motor cars in west Mayo? The reality is that the Irish economy needs energy. We only supply about 25% of our own energy needs. The Corrib field will help fill Ireland's energy gap and reduce dependence on Middle-East oil. The idea that it should be held up by a handful of landowners is preposterous. Lots of countries have gas pipelines and refineries on a far bigger scale than this. These people are simply part of the Alliance Against Everything. They want the benefits of a modern industrial economy without any of the risks, in this case minuscule risks.
Is iomaidh fear maith ab eigiean dó imeacht go Meiriceá nó Sasana mar níorbh fhéidir leis greim bidh a fháil ina dhúthaigh fhéin.
Tá barúimheal agam gurb iontach an rud é go mbeadh maoin agus fostaíocht i gContae Mhaigh Eo le mo linn féin. Is iomaí cor is lúb sa saol agus cuirim fáilte fial flaithiúil roimh an gcomhlucht úd, Shell, go maire siad!
http://www.indymedia.no/newswire/display/18471/index.php
Exploration
http://www.statoil.ie/statoilie/svg02976.nsf/UNID/59B9529C139E8DD780256C56003B46C0
Corrib
http://www.statoil.ie/statoilie/svg02976.nsf/0/1A7D9027AD0B856180256C53003F8272?OpenDocument
also....
Irish Offshore Operators Association
http://www.iooa.ie/
[ note: the Norwegian office worker who recieved this letter was very nice and posed for this photo. What ever evil StatOil has brought to this world, she is *not* connected with it. Thanks goes to her and the others in the embassy ]
Norwegian Embassy Worker, Padhraig Campbell & Sister Majella McCarron
Map of where the pipeline will go