THE Corrib gas project has been hit with by another delay as the operators cannot begin full production until the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants an industrial emissions licence.
The project, which is 12 years overdue and has cost €3.6bn — more than four times the original estimate of €800m — cannot begin production until it secures ministerial approval.
Shell expects all systems to be in place and operational by the end of this month, but production will not begin until Alex White, the minister for communications, energy and natural resources, signs a consent order following the EPA’s determination.
The EPA has received objections from seven groups including residents living near the gas pipeline in Rossport, Pollathomas and Glengad, and 1,100 people in Ireland and abroad who are signatories to a petition formed by the Shell to Sea protest group. An Taisce has also objected.
When the Corrib project comes online it is anticipated that production will increase over the first six months to peak levels of 58m cubic feet of gas every day.
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Lorenzo Donadeo, chief executive of Vermilion Energy, which has partnered Shell and Statoil in the offshore gas project, told analysts last week that production would not begin until the final quarter of this year.
“In accordance with statutory guidelines on applicable review periods, the EPA is expected to issue its final determination on the emissions licence on or before mid-September,” Donadeo said. “Further, we now estimate that the ministerial consent process will be completed, and production will commence in early-to-mid fourth quarter of 2015.”