Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) say they regret "the events that led to the jailing of 5 men in 2005" (the Rossport Five) and aver that while they "cannot change the past" the Company has learned lessons from it.
The statement has come from Michael Wilkinson, Vice President Sustainable Development, Royal Dutch Shell who was responding to a range of issues raised with the company by the Celtic League Secretary General about its policies in both Ireland and Nigeria.
In relation to Nigeria Michael Wilkinson says that the Company has invested considerably and feels "confident that we will be able to meet the revised 2009 deadline to end gas flaring in Nigeria" which is an environmental contentious issue.
Notwithstanding the statement from Royal Dutch Shell the Celtic League are aware that the companies policies in North Mayo are still generating controversy a situation which seems to be at odds with the assurances given by Mr Wilkinson.
The Celtic League intend to continue to press the company on these matters. (See RDS letter in full below):
"Royal Dutch Shell plc
26 June 2007
Dear Mr Tal-e-bot
Thank you very much for your letter dated 9th May 2007 to Jeroen van der Veer in which you query Shell's commitment to society and the environment. He has asked me to reply on his behalf.
I would like to assure you that we take our commitment to the environment and to society very seriously. They are in our Shell General Business Principles, which explicitly states our commitment to the Health, Safety, Security and the Environment (Principle 5). In addition, Principles six and seven show our seriousness with regards to local communities and communications and engagement with them.
With regards to your specific queries on gas flaring in Nigeria, we have made substantial progress the last decade in reducing our flaring. Reducing flaring is an enormous task, coming from 1000 wells. These operations are quite capital intensive as well. We have spent around $3 billion the last six years and we will spend a further $2-3 billion to complete the gas gathering facilities and pipelines programme. We feel confident that we will be able to meet the revised 2009 deadline to end gas flaring in Nigeria.
With regards to the Corrib project, mistakes have been made. Shell regrets the events that led to the jailing of 5 men in 2005. For the hurt that this caused the local community in County Mayo we are sorry. We cannot change the past, but the Company has learnt from it. Shell and its partners are fully committed to the project; however, it can only succeed in partnership with the local community, with whom we are committed to building trust so that the full benefits of the project can be realised.
In addition, onshore processing of Corrib gas is the best option for a field of this type and size. Best international industry practise is now moving towards developing offshore gas fields and subsea tiebacks to an onshore gas terminal. This type of development is also being followed in other projects such as Ormen Lange and Snohvit in Norway, Otway in Australia, Scarab Saffron in Egypt and more recently Goldeneye field in the North sea.
Gas pipelines have an excellent safety record. The onshore pipeline route will be modified in consultation with the local community. Shell has committed to limit the design pressure of the onshore pipeline to 144 bar. By way of comparison, a typical Bord Gáis Éireann cross country pipeline operates at a pressure of 85 bar. The Corrib pipeline will have a wall thickness of 27.1mm (over an inch), compared to a typical Bord Gáis cross-country pipeline that has a normal wall thickness of 9.52mm (roughly a third of an inch). Safety is our number one priority and the project has been designed with this in mind. The final design concept represents best international practise for a field of this type and size.
Your sincerely
Michael Wilkinson
Vice President Sustainable Development"
See also Celtic News earlier items on this subject at:
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J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League
08/07/07
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