Corrib Gas Pipeline

Part of the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project.

Download full dataset

Report an error

Related categories:

Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker Global Oil Infrastructure Tracker Gas and Hydrogen Pipelines LNG Terminals Oil and NGL Pipelines

The Corrib Gas Pipeline is an operating gas pipeline in Ireland.

Location

The pipeline runs from the Corrib Oil and Gas Field in the Atlantic Ocean to Ballinaboy, Co. Mayo.

Project details

• Operator: Vermilion Exploration and Production Ireland Limited (Vermilion E&P Ireland)
• Owner: Vermillion Energy (56.5%) Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (43.5%)
• Length: 90 km
• Diameter: 508mm
• Status: Operating
• Start year: 2015
• Associated infrastructure: Corrib Oil and Gas Field

Background

The Corrib Gas Pipeline was first proposed when a natural gas field was discovered 90 km off the west coast of Ireland in 1996. In 2001, a petroleum lease was granted to a consortium comprising Enterprise Energy Ireland, Statoil, and Marathon. The pipeline, announced as part of the development plan, connects the Corrib Gas Field to a terminal in Ballinaboy, where it connects to the Galway-Mayo pipeline.

In 2002 the Irish government introduced changes to legislation that would allow the state to issue compulsory acquisition orders (CAOs) for the benefit of a private company. Thirty-four CAOs were subsequently issued to secure the right of way for the pipeline. This same year Shell purchased Enterprise Energy Ireland, becoming the operator on the project.

The owners first proposed that the pipeline would make landfall at Glengad, travel beneath Sruwaddacon estuary towards Rossport village and travel along the peninsula before passing back underneath the bay to reach the terminal. The majority of the onshore section of the pipeline would pass through an ecologically sensitive area designated as a Special Area of Protection by the EU. Mayo County Council initially granted permission for the proposal. This decision was appealed to An Bord Pleanála (the Irish national planning board). In 2003, Bord Pleanála denied permission for the construction of the pipeline. In a 377-page report, the inspector cited environmental and safety concerns and raised questions about the socio-economic value of a ‘highly obtrusive’ plan. Rejecting the proposal, the planning inspector wrote: "from a strategic planning perspective, this is the wrong site; from the perspective of Government policy which seeks to foster balanced regional development, this is the wrong site; from the perspective of minimising environmental impact, this is the wrong site; and consequently, from the perspective of sustainable development, this is the wrong site".

In 2003, Shell executives met with then Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Bertie Ahern. Following the meeting, Shell resubmitted their application which was subsequently approved in 2004. Project-splitting became a key issue during construction, as the integrated project—including the subsea pipeline, gas fields, and onshore pipeline—was divided into separate parts, preventing any single body from assessing its cumulative impact.

Construction work began in 2005, prompting strong opposition from local activists. Shell was ordered to dismantle 3 km of welded pipeline constructed to service a section of the route yet to receive planning permission. A safety review of the onshore section of the pipeline was ordered.

Construction of the pipeline continued with significant delays due to opposition, changes to the proposed route, and denials of planning permission. Scheduled for completion in 2007, the finish date was pushed back to 2009—and then delayed again. Two proposals for the onshore section of the pipeline were proposed and refused due to safety and environmental concerns. The third route for the onshore section of the pipeline was approved for a final time in 2009. This plan included a 4.2m diameter lined tunnel beneath the seabed which would run for 4.2 km making it the longest such tunnel in Ireland. Lars Wagner, a contractor on the project, died while tunnelling in 2013.

After years of delays, and a total project cost four times the original estimate, gas began flowing through the Corrib Pipeline in 2015. The project has an anticipated lifespan of 15-20 years. Shell sold its stake in the Corrib project, including the pipeline, to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in 2018. Vermilion Energy moved into operator-ship of the project in 2018 and purchased Equinor’s stake in 2023.

Opposition

The Corrib Gas Pipeline is one of the most controversial fossil fuel infrastructure projects in Ireland. A coalition of farmers, fishermen, Rossport residents, and environmental activists opposed the project. Safety concerns, pollution, environmental destruction, and whether the pipeline would actually benefit the nearby communities were central issues.

Opposition to the project has been present in some form since the project's inception. Fishermen and farmers were concerned that the proposed route crossed important inshore fishing grounds as well as agricultural land. Rossport residents were concerned for their safety—the proposed route would carry raw, odorless gas within 70 metres of some houses. Early opposition consisted mostly of objections to planning permissions sought by Shell and calls for meaningful community engagement. After the second submission for planning permission was approved in 2004, opposition to the pipeline grew and larger protest actions ensued.

The Irish state made a number of compulsory acquisition orders to secure right of way for the pipeline. In 2005, several farmers refused to allow Shell workers to access their land for construction work. Five people, known as 'The Rossport Five', were imprisoned for contempt of court after refusing to obey court orders forbidding them from interfering with construction work. Their case gained notoriety across Ireland and internationally. Thousands of protesters marched in Dublin in support of the men and Shell filling stations across Ireland were picketed.

When the Rossport Five were imprisoned, the gates of the Shell terminal in Glengad became the central site for protests against the pipeline. Shell to Sea and other environmental and community groups were established to organize opposition to the pipeline. After attempts at mediation failed and tensions increased, opposition groups increasingly used civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action to slow down construction.

Accusations of excessive use of force by An Garda Síochána (the Irish police force) were common throughout the Corrib controversy.  In 2009, police violence at Corrib was the single greatest source of complaints to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, seventy-five percent of which were found to be admissible for investigation. In 2009, a UN special rapporteur on human rights found: “credible reports and evidence, including video footage, indicating the existence of a pattern of intimidation, harassment, surveillance and criminalization of those peacefully opposing the Corrib Gas project.”

The Corrib controversy remains the most notorious fossil fuel projects in Irish history and the project has become synonymous with social-ecological upheaval. The controversy was the subject of the 2010 TG4 film, ‘The Pipe’. Opposition to the project resulted in lengthy delays, numerous arrests, and the imprisonment of several activists in 2005, 2009, and 2010. Although the pipeline project ultimately went ahead, the campaign resulted in mandates requiring the operator to reduce the pipeline pressure by two-thirds and reroute the pipeline through a lined tunnel. Policing costs to the Irish State reached €16.4 million by 2015. Within the oil and gas industry, the project has been described as a “case study of mismanagement”.

Environmental impacts

A 2019 case study of the project concluded: “Ecological impacts include some contamination of the regional water supply, imposition of a large industrial development in a rural area, damage to Special Protected Areas and Special Areas of Conservation … and a recent ‘technical’ error which resulted in €400,000 worth of gas being flared.”