Vol. 535 No. 4
57 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources when it is expected that gas from the Corrib gas field will be brought ashore; the information available regarding the extent of the find; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12799/01]
Enterprise Energy Ireland expects that gas sales from the Corrib will commence at the earliest by July 2003. The company estimates the field to contain about one thousand million cubic feet of gas or about two thirds the size of the Kinsale-Ballycotton fields.
Having recently declared the field commercial, Enterprise Energy Ireland has made an application on behalf of itself and its partners, Statoil and Marathon, for a petroleum lease to develop the field, which I expect to grant shortly. Any development work leading to the extraction of oil and gas can take place only following my approval of a plan of development and an environmental impact statement which the company is required to submit in accordance with the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act, 1960 and my Department's licensing terms for offshore oil and gas.
Since I last raised this issue in the House, there was a report on it in The Irish Times on 21 April headlined, “Corrib owners to sell gas individually”. I gather from the reporter, Brendan McGrath, the newspaper's markets editor, that this would create substantial problems. Effectively it would mean that three owners would be trying to market or sell the gas individually. Will the Minister clarify if he has been advised to that effect?
That is a separate question to the one asked. The agreement which exists between Bord Gáis and Enterprise Energy provides for the link between Pollatomish and Craughwell into the ring main being provided by Bord Gáis and paid for, by and large, by Enterprise Energy. I understand that Bord Gáis will be the distribu tor of the gas. Clearly, however, Enterprise Energy is in a position to sell to Bord Gáis or other clients. I will clarify the position. It is largely a question for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
That article was written by a responsible journalist, the markets editor of the newspaper, so it did not come from nowhere and is hardly a rumour. While it might require a separate question perhaps the Minister would at least give an undertaking to investigate the matter.
Will the Minister make available to the residents of Glenamoy, Carrowtigue and Porturlin whatever information the Department has regarding the major development taking place? The residents are concerned because they feel they are getting no information from the county council, the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources or Enterprise Energy. He or his officials should make the information available to the residents.
A new planning application has been submitted to the county council. Is the Minister satisfied with the feasibility study given to the council by Enterprise Energy? Has he taken into account the effect the development will have on marine life in an area which depends on fishing? People who have been involved in the fishing industry for many years are concerned about this massive development. What protection will be available for these people who were in the area before Enterprise Energy?
The Deputy's questions went outside the substance of the original question.
I will clarify the matter further for Deputy Bell. Applications for planning permission and for a foreshore licence have been submitted and the Deputy will be aware that a new application for planning permission was submitted to Mayo County Council. That followed further information being requested by the county council. That was a good development in itself because many of the concerns expressed were addressed in the application. It is a matter for Mayo County Council to decide. My Department received an environmental impact statement for an application for a foreshore licence which it found to be unsatisfactory. Consequently and following discussions with the Department of Public Enterprise, it has requested a new and more substantial EIS. I assure residents with concerns that there will be a rigorous examination of the application in all its aspects before any decision is taken by my Department, and I am sure Mayo County Council will do the same. We will be happy to make information available to the local community when it is appropriate to do so.
(Dublin West): The Minister repeated that there was one trillion cubic feet of gas in the Corrib field. When I last spoke to him about six or seven weeks ago, he was unable to give me an estimate of how much that would be worth in overall terms. Has he since put a figure on that? Do his remarks about redrawing and reviewing the terms under which companies are given our natural resources have implications for the Corrib field?
The Deputy's questions are well outside the scope of the issue raised.
The second question is answered by a later reply. I checked the information the Deputy requested. It is a question of the market price of gas at any given time. That would be difficult to quantify over the next 15 years.
(Dublin West): Will the Minister give one example?
It depends on market price and conditions over the next 15 years.
