Natural gas has started to flow from the €1.1 billion Corrib gas field, marking an important milestone for the country and Shell’s upstream operations in the North Atlantic.
Located 50 miles off Ireland’s northwest coast in water depths of almost 350 metres, the Corrib gas field lies approximately 3,000 metres below the seabed.
At peak annual production, Corrib has the potential to meet up to 60% of Ireland’s gas needs and is expected to produce around 260 MMscf/d of gas, which is 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
More than 6,000 people worked on the development of the Corrib Gas field, which will sustain 175 high-quality jobs for the next 15-20 years.
Six wells have been drilled at the Corrib field, with the gas transported to the Bellanaboy Bridge Gas Terminal in north-west Mayo through a 20 inch pipeline. The gas is processed at Bellanaboy before it is transferred into the Gas Networks Ireland network, which delivers it to consumers.
The Corrib project – operated by Shell – is a joint venture between Shell Ireland (45%), Statoil Ireland (36.5%) and Vermilion Energy Ireland (18.5%).
Andy Brown, Shell’s Upstream International Director, commented: “As well as being a positive step for our gas portfolio, this is also good news for Ireland as the provision of Corrib gas improves security of supply for the Irish energy market.”
Pixie Energy is an incubator and a facilitator of strategic research and project work, focusing on energy regulation, policy and markets at the local and national level. Find out more about Pixie Energy