With the Corrib gas terminal at Bellanaboy almost complete, members of the local media were given a guided tour of the site to see how it is progressing
Anton McNulty
THE construction phase of the Corrib gas terminal at Bellanaboy is 90 per cent complete with gas expected to flow through the plant at the third quarter of 2010.
Last week, members of the local media were invited on a guided tour of the controversial terminal by senior engineers as they explained the various workings of the terminal. The site had been expected to be completed by this stage but is 90 per cent complete and now is expected to be finally completed by the end of the year.
At peak production, the Corrib gas field will provide 60 per cent of Ireland’s energy needs and will last for approximately 15 years. At a presentation meeting, Brendan Butler, the Site Manager explained that there are currently 750 people employed on the site and admitted that they had hoped to have the figure closer to 500 at this stage as the different stages of the work is completed.
At present, Mr Butler explained to the media that the system integrity testing programme was currently progressing well and was targeting the backfeed of the natural gas from the Bord Gáis pipeline to enter the site in the third quarter of 2010.
“The Bord Gáis pipeline from Galway has been outside our gate for the last three years and the valve will be opened when we are ready. The integrity testing will have to make sure everything is correct and once the Independent audit check gives us the green light we will let the gas in. There will be about three months of testing to make sure all the equipment is working correctly and fill the plant with nitrogen. Then my job will be finished and we will wait for the [onshore] pipeline,” explained Brendan.
At its peak, the terminal employed over 1,000 workers and at present 50 per cent of the workforce are from Mayo. Brendan said the project had been great for employment in the area but admitted that there was not much work for them in Ireland when it is completed. Once completed the terminal is expected to provide 130 permanent jobs covering the running of the plant, maintenance and security.
The officials explained that site safety was a paramount for the contractors on the site with a red cross station located on site. On visiting the site, the media had to wear reflective jackets and trousers, a hard hat, gloves and eye goggles despite the warm temperatures. It was revealed that approximately 1,100,000 man hours have been achieved without a ‘Lost Time Incident’ (LTI) and the last LTI was a foot injury on August 13, 2009.
‘Everything will look after itself’
One of the units visited by the media was the Control Room which will overlook the entire running of the terminal and be able to recognise and rectify any faults that may occur. A simulator identical to the control room has been built in the Shell office in Belmullet which Christy Loftus, Communications Advisor, said was capable of providing training on the operation of the plant.
Peter Dexter, the control room operator, explained that software controls all the runnings of the terminal and should there be a systems failure there was a manual back-up system. He said one person will operate the control room which will run 24/7.
“Everything will look after itself,” explained Peter. “If it runs smoothly, 99 per cent of the time the operator will be sitting here bored while monitoring the situation.”
One of the areas of the project which Shell highlighted was the benefits to the community in terms of employment and the revenue it has brought to the Erris area. Up to €15m has been invested in local roads and during the peak in construction 800 people were accommodated in the Erris area.
Other investments in the community include €3.68m spent in local funding programmes between 2006 and 2010 which include Local Grants Programme, Third-Level Scholarships Programme and the Erris Development Fund. The Erris Development Fund was launched in January 2009 with €5m allocated for the first three years with projects open in three categories - Enterprise and Knowledge, Marine and Environment, Sports and Culture.
The criteria for the projects are that they must be local, sustainable and inclusive and must have match funding in place with approximately €1.5m allocated to eight applications allocated for funding.
