Shell Fined over Corrib Flaring

Shell has pleaded guilty to excessive overnight gas flaring at its Corrib onshore gas treatment plant days after the field started up.

Judge O’Neill at the Dublin Metropolitan Court awarded costs against Shell of €15,138 to Ireland’s Environment Protection Agency (EPA) which mounted the prosecution and also fined the company €1000.

EPA in a statement said it mounted the case as a result of its investigation, following complaints received from residents in the Bellanaboy area of northwest Ireland, where the Corrib gas plant is based; the complaints related to the flaring events on New Years’ Eve and New Year’s morning 2016.

Shell admitted two breaches of its Industrial Emission Licence, one relating to excessive light at night, and another relating to excessive noise at night, and was fined €500 for each count. EPA granted the licence on October 8 2015, which requires Shell to alert residents of any planned flaring on-site. The agency, which began its investigation in early January, thanked residents who came forward.

After years of development delays caused by protests and planning objections against the project, Corrib produced first gas on December 30 2015. A report in The Irish Times quoted a prosecution lawyer saying that Shell had been consented to flare during daytime production tests prior to this date.

Located 83km off northwest Ireland, Corrib is operated by Shell (45%); partners are Statoil (36.5%) and Canada's Vermilion Energy (18.5%). Vermilion said May 6 the field had “produced strongly” during 1Q 2016, which was further confirmed by UK official data that showed that gas exports from Britain fell sharply in 1Q because of Corrib’s start-up.

Mark Smedley