Shell to Sea- A struggle that won't go away

national | anti-capitalism | news report

Friday October 05, 2007 13:24

by Sean Mallory - WSM Jack White branch (Pers. cap)

A look back at Shell to sea and a look forward to October the 12th.

A look back at Shell to sea and a look forward to the future.

The last two and half years
In July 2005 the small west of Ireland community became the focus of attention of the people in Ireland. Five small farmers in Rossport Co had stood up to a multinational conglomeration of Shell, Statoil and Marathon in fear they would die if Shell built their unprecedented on-shore refinery.

The Irish State's reaction to this was to indefinately imprison them http://www.indymedia.ie/article/70508. This transpired to be 94 days at which point Shell decided it was doing more harm than good by imprisoning as there was a series of direct actions and mass demonstration in their defence http://www.indymedia.ie/article/71388. In the weeks running up to this some activists made contact with community activists and started a national Shell to sea campaign http://www.indymedia.ie/article/70275. The unbelievable story of what was going on in the west of Ireland was spread through Europe through the meeting of activists at the G8 in Sterling in July 2008.

The story is quite unbelievable. Shell and their partners are attempting to destroy an unspoilt part of the west of Ireland, by running a dangerous pipeline through the village of Rossport to an inland refinery that will spew hundreds of thousands of tonnes of methane each year in the local environment. For this privledge we are being robbed of €51 billion of Irish gas through a dodgy deal cut with corrupt politicans that at the time was called "economic treason" by Dick Spring http://www.indymedia.ie/openwire?search_text=fin+dwyer&...0&y=0.

So what happened since 2005 and where are we now?

Traditional sectarianism was put aside and activists of different backgrounds
worked together forming what the media would later bill "the looney
alliance of anarchists and republicans". Throughout the summer of 2005
and until the late summer of 2006 things worked very well as constant
pickets shut down Shell's operation in Mayo and pressure mounted on
Shell and the Irish State.

Then at the end of September 2006 the State and Shell made their move.
Over 200 gardai were billeted to Rossport. The top cop Joe Gannon said he would have the protests finished in 48hours. The community and national campaigns response was
immense. Picketing went on through the night incase the Gardai tried to cordon activists away from the site. On the night of the second of October the cops eventually turned out in force. In an effort to maintain the year and half long picket cars were parked blocking the refinery and behind them the community sat in front of the gates.

In area with lowest crime rate in Ireland 200 Gardai pulled and dragged community residents from the gates, hospitalising two.

This lead to a surge in activity with much campaign activity around the country and internationally focused on days of action in Rossport. The Garda reaction to these days of Action was violent
culminating in a baton charge on the 10th of November http://www.indymedia.ie/article/79603. The campaign then in the face of what seemed like more violence cancelled a proposed day of action on the 24th of November 2006. Many saw this as decisive moment for the campaign as momentum passed out of our hands http://www.indymedia.ie/article/79775. Everyone realised the folly of
it, but as with a lot of things in Shell to Sea it is a learning process. Now it seems it was not as decisive as it seemed as things build again.

This summer the campaign burst back to life by victoriously opposing shell's attempt to install cabins for works in the bay http://www.indymedia.ie/article/82983 .This was followed with a very
intense week which saw three fishermen including Pat "the chief" O Donnell and his son and a friend imprisoned on trumped up charges http://www.indymedia.ie/article/83395 , the site was shut down for a day http://www.indymedia.ie/article/83416. On the fishermen's release
an invasion of the construction site took place. Over September there have been three site invasions and two days with numerous people blockading traffic attempting to access the site.
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/83955

All this occurred in the run up to the day of action on September 14th It was unique in that it had a pre-announced plan. The plan was simple - go there and sit on the road and no vehicles get on site. The run-up to the day was nervous. The big question was- could Shell to Sea with its
national support in town (or countryside rather) reassert the right of ordinary people over multinationals in Erris and really push forward the already building momentum behind the campaign. The conditions were certainly right- Shell were and still are running into
enormous problems as building has virtually come to a standstill due to poor quality concrete, constant protest and the lack of a pipeline route. On Friday the 14th about 150 - 200 people turned from around the country and this was matched by a sizeable mayo turnout.

The total protestor turnout was matched by a sizeable Garda presence. As the protestors shut down the main entrance to the site with the sit-down the Gardai thought they would be clever and direct traffic around the sit down and bore protestors to tears. After this long you would imagine
the cops would realise Shell to Sea is a little more on the ball than this. In the lack of the any trucks to meet protestors they decided to go and take a look and shut the site down. So it was up, over, under and through the gate as the protest made little a secondary gate
as well (especially constructed for the day) http://www.indymedia.ie/article/84378. The Gardai responded with their usual heavy handed tactics. Regardless of Shell's rubbish spin, RTE's
desperate attempts to placate Shell and and the gardai's official line http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0914/mayo.html it was plain to see who had won the day and that the train is firmly back on the tracks.

It's undoubted that Shell to Sea is not yet at the dizzying heights it was at 12 or 24 months ago. However things are moving in a similar direction at the moment. The lessons of placing too
much faith in politicians to pull a deal out the hat have been learned. With this
knowledge the sitaution does seem positive for Shell to Sea.

Another day of Action has been called for October the 12th as the situation is heating up as the pressure mounts up on Shell and political pressure on the greens. These days of Action will not work on there own - people need to be active in communities- organising meetings, postering and raising the issue whereever possible. These days are however crucial to pile on the pressure -
showing in a visible robust way the level of opposition to this project and highlighting the brutality of what is an everyday occurrence in Rossport.

Go on - Book a ticket on the bus
At this stage many of us are scratching our heads as to why mayo people can't do this at the height of summer but then again what else would you be doing on windy Friday morning in
October? Ok fair enough we all do but it will certainly be worth it to force this to its logical conclusion after 8 years.

There has to be point at where poeple in this country say no to the way the Irish elite have treated us for the past thirty years and Rossport is the opportunity, we all know tribunals don't make a bit of difference.
Are you really going to allow yourself be robbed of 51billion . You cant reclaim extracted gas in 20 years time.
Its also worth remembering for us it's a daytrip to Rossport for others it's a highlight and morale
boost in a 8 year struggle that must and will end soon. When people arrive its intensely appreciated as it shows they are not struggling on their own.

So where will you be on October the 12th?

Book tickets for transport early . (for tickets phone or text 0851609850 in Dublin) Cork -corkshelltosea@gmail.com or call 0851141170 for general info.

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Comments (24 of 24)

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Greens giveaway

by marty

Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:36

Scandal of Ryan’s quiet deal in the oil and gas giveaway. Colm Rapple . Mail on Sunday Oct.14 2007

"THE great oil and gas giveaway continues. This week, Providence Resources has unveiled an oil find off Hook Head on the Waterford coast, estimated by some to be worth almost €4bn. But just four weeks ago, our new green Energy Minister, Eamon Ryan, gave the company extra rights to an adjoining 150 square miles on which a number of prospective oil and gas pockets have been identified.
So, the good news of the oil find must be tempered by a realisation that the main beneficiaries are going to be the shareholders in Providence and its partners. Media magnate Tony O'Reilly Sr. is the largest single shareholder in the oil company of which his son, also Tony, is chief executive.

The find is not a new one but it has been better delineated and is coming closer to commercial exploitation. Analysts this week estimated that this particular reservoir could contain between 50 and 63 million barrels of recoverable oil. At $80 a barrel, that could be worth up to €3.8bn before costs.
The costs will be relatively modest. The find is not in particularly deep water and is only 50 km off the Waterford coast or 130 km west of Milford Haven. That latter point may or may not be significant since our licensing terms don't require companies to land any finds in Ireland.
The oil is described as 'sweet', in other words it can be refined into the higher, value products such as petrol, aviation fuel and heating oil.
That could be done at Whitegate but equally well done in Wales.

The Hook Head prospect was first drilled in the 1970s by Marathon Oil which found the Kinsale Head gasfield. There have been other finds in the area since then, although none of them were proved commercial..
But given this reappraisal of the Hook Head field on the basis of fresh drilling by Providence, a number of these other finds, even if confirmed as small, could well prove commercial when fed into whatever infrastructure is put into place for the Hook Head find.
That will certainly be true of any other oil finds of which there are already a few. Close by are the Helvick and Dunmore prospects, both of which yielded oil flows in-exploratory drilling. Back in 2000, the Helvick find was considered commercial for a time, with potential reserves estimated at between 18 and 28 million barrels. But it was subsequently decided that it was too small to be viable on its own.

That was before oil prices took off, so even without the economies of scale that the Hook Head find will lend to its development, Helvick might well be currently commercial.
A little to the south of Helvick, there was a gas find on the Ardmore structure but to the south-west, in the so-called Blackrock area, drilling for oil proved inconclusive despite high hopes of a very large find.
All of these finds look a lot more encouraging in the light of the latest results from Hook Head. According to a report from Davy stockbrokers, the oil is of good quality, and the reservoir is of high porosity, which means that the oil should flow well. Technical problems meant that actual flow tests were limited but Davy is confident that all is well.
It concludes that the find is of a scale sufficient to warrant development by itself and that it will also improve the viability of other finds in the area.
It should also encourage more exploration in the area.

It seems that a number of targets have already been identified, including some within that 150 square mile area beside the Hook Head - the area where Providence was given an option last month. That option gives it first claim to an exploration licence over the area at a paltry cost of about €10,000 a year.

Granting that option just weeks before Providence announced the results of its test drilling doesn't make sense. The department had nothing to lose by waiting until the results were in or even longer. So why did Minister Ryan approve the deal? It wasn't announced by the department and there doesn't seem to be any record of it on its very extensive website.
It was left to Providence to reveal its good fortune, which it did on September 13. While the department gained nothing, it's clear that Providence gained a lot.

When Providence exercises its option and gets an exploration licence, any find is likely to be subject to the new terms announced a few months ago. They are a bit more onerous than the old terms that will apply to production from any of the existing finds which are subject to the old; 1992 terms.

But the State take won’t be all that much greater and no oil or gas will flow from this new acreage for at least a decade. In the meanwhile Providence will simply bank it.
The sensible thing would hasve been for the State to keep the acreage to either explore and exploit any finds itself or eventually issue a more advantageous licence.

The decision to give it to Providence and its partners is nothing short of scandalous.

time bomb

by ed

Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:29

Index -linking won't help anybody to sleep at night knowing they have a time bomb in their village.
Put a price on that.

Shell Oil Paid Lobbyist $100,000

by tnc - tnc corcaí

Fri Oct 12, 2007 10:54

Shell Oil Paid Patton Boggs $100,000 to Lobby Federal Government in First Half of 2007
(not suggesting that this type of thing is happening here, in our socialist republic of perfection)
October 09, 2007: 04:33 PM EST

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - A U.S. unit of Royal Dutch Shell plc paid Patton Boggs LLP $100,000 to lobby the federal government in the first half of 2007, according to a recent disclosure form.

The firm lobbied on energy legislation, according to form posted online Aug. 12 by the Senate's public records office.

Former Sen. John Breaux, D-La., is among those registered to lobby on behalf of Shell Oil Co.

Under a federal law enacted in 1995, lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches. They must register with Congress within 45 days of being hired or engaging in lobbying.

idea

by index linked

Fri Oct 12, 2007 08:36

those are good points, and it would be a good idea if the landowners demanded the payments are index linked to inflation.
problem solved!

sales pitch

by jd

Thu Oct 11, 2007 22:49

I didn't assume anything. The value is based on inflation from 1986 to 2006.
But that's not the point. The figures are open to correction if you really want to bother.

The point is this - when the salesmen from Shell/RPS gather in your kitchen, with the squad car at the gate; when they and twist and turn the figures until your head spins; when they convince you that you've won the lotto - then you may just sign. DON'T!
At least get independent financial advice and take a few weeks to think it over.

I've little doubt that at the end of it all you'll arrive at my previous conclusion - you're being screwed.

"Assumption is the mother of all f***-ups" - Steven Segal

Get the maths right at least

by Dave

Thu Oct 11, 2007 16:53

300000 paid in even amounts over the next 20 years is worth about 187k in todays money (assuming 5% inflation).

depreciation

by Der

Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:29

you left something out JD - depreciation.
whats a farm worth when you put a high pressure gas pipeline under it?

You're screwed!

Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:19

300k will be worth approx. 166,107.68 when the final payments are made.
Subtract tax at say ,42%, and you're left with 96,342.4544.
Paid annually over 20 years thats 4,818 p.a. in today's value.
A range rover is approx. 125,00.
A loan will cost you approx. 34k p.a over 5 years or 170,000.
That leaves a shortfall of 29,000 p.a for a Range Rover.

If Tristan crashes the Rover the full value of the loan becomes immediately payable, +VAT.

Subject to T&Cs. The value of your property may fall as well as rise.

Thanks

by Tommy

Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:00

Thanks Mac

Sligo Shell to Sea

by MacE

Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:46

Found this on the Shell to Sea website:

Sligo Local Group
Contact details

Robert - soha2000@gmx.net

Shell to Sea in Sligo

Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:33

Is there a Shell to Sea Group in Sligo does anyone know? If there is is there any chance of getting contact details?

Helicopters

by Facts

Wed Oct 10, 2007 23:40

300 K will buy two range rovers in real terms at todays prices

spend it quickly

by Bill again

Wed Oct 10, 2007 10:53

Something for the landowners to consider if they decide to accept the cheques -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria_oil_blast

How long before Rossport is added to this list?

life is cheap

by Bill

Wed Oct 10, 2007 10:36

According to the Mayo Echo landowners are to be paid up to 300k over 20 years to allow the pipeline through their property.
That's (up to) 15k at 5% inflation, before tax, to endanger your health, your life, your family's lives and the lives and welfare of your neighbours.
This is what Shell and RPS think of the people of Rossport. I'll bet the gardaí on the gates will earn more in overtime.

The Chief ain't no 'grunt' grunt!!

by Maura Harrington - S2S; Davitt League

Mon Oct 08, 2007 22:17

Another anonymous 'guess who?' comment ... ho hum! However this one has to be addressed because NOBODY calls The Chief a 'grunt' - especially oil grunts!

The use of the term 'grunt' helps the guessing game - given its Vietnam associations, its use would point to someone in or around my own vintage ... well, Mr. Cronin et al??

For the record, the position of S2S is quite healthy. There are many reasons for this - I would consider the principal reason to be the intelligence and tenacity of the local people aided by their national and international supporters. Their attachment to Place (Erris) is underpinned by a level of research that would, into its 8th year, be equal to a number of P.hDs in many disciplines and is something not ignored by intelligent commentators.

There is also the worrying signal of State subversion by, in this instance, Big Oil but not unknown from other, lesser sources such as maverick (being charitable) 'developers'. This subversion of the State was manifested on October 3rd 2006 when the police (Gárdaí when they earn the title which did, and can continue to demand respect but not in Erris at the moment) were used as a tool of Big Oil. Just like Nigeria - ask the selectively affable Mr. Egan to tell you all about Nigeria 'guess who'.

That's about as much analysis as you're going to get at the moment 'guess who' and is more than you deserve. You can follow upcoming events and make intelligent comments on them if it's within your compass to so do.

Finally, how about calling The Chief 'a poor grunt' to his face? You and whose army ...

Gas Fires

Mon Oct 08, 2007 09:58

'all politicians have distanced themselves from the campaign'

Gas is right now being piped to the main towns of Mayo. Is this because of the hard work of
people like Ring, Flynn, Carty or Kenny? No!

It's because of the S2S campaign. It is an effort by the state to undermine S2S and to delude
the people of Mayo into thinking they are getting a good deal. If the politicians cared less about
their cowardly egos and more about their people they would easily have landed a much better deal
for Mayo. Remember, before S2S, Mayo was going to receive only a minuscule amount of piped gas.
If these so-called public representatives claim credit for piping gas to Castlebar, Ballina, Westport, Ballyhaunis, Claremorris, Crossmolina and Knock then they are simply liars. Sad to say, the newest politicians don't look as if they will break the mould.

When the people of Mayo turn on their gas fires or go to their jobs created by virtue of having mains
gas they would do well to have a little gratitude for those whose efforts brought this about, if indirectly - S2S -and they should be reminded of such.

cracked

by JJ

Sun Oct 07, 2007 22:19

"doing nothing more than causing trouble" and how is this brought about?
Oh yeah - a sit down protest., leaving the protesters vulnerable and unable to defend themselves,
even if they wished to.
Way to cause trouble alright!

"The Shell must break before the bird can fly"- Tennyson

Criteria

Sun Oct 07, 2007 22:16

The anonymous 'genuine local' who, by any criteria, has to be a troll is just that by the simple fact of his pseudonym. As a criterion for judging the genuine from the spurious, posting ones real name is fairly upfront.

The 80% of the receiving community opposed to the proposed (and dead in the water) Corrib Project had no difficulty in signing their names to the petition - and, all trolls out there, there was NO intimidation!

'Genuine Local; Confused Local; Erris Exile' etc. etc. - who are you? where are you? why don't you have the courage of your so-called convictions and put your names with your comments???

I have had no difficulty in using my name and will continue to do so.

open mind

by listener

Sun Oct 07, 2007 21:23

reading comments from both sides is interesting. I always keep an open mind . Isn't the principal the same though when it comes to protesting. Getting the message across. We are a lot wiser when we see comments and we make up our own minds.

response to JM

by genuine local

Sun Oct 07, 2007 21:03

JM, I am astounded by your use of a statement, you obviously found in some news item, comparing the people of Burma with Ballinaboy, is like comparing Mother Treasa with Adolf Hitler! The protesters in Burma were actually on a peaceful march, while you, your croonies in S2S and your friends the so called "ecowarriors" are doing nothing more than causing trouble! and you know that to be fact. the so called "sit down protest" was no more than you trying to cause as much contraversy as possible, ye try and bully the workers, some of which are local and when that does'nt work you say that the locals are all anti-gas. Eh! I think you might find there's more support out there for this project than you would have readers of this site believe.

carry on

by chrissie

Sat Oct 06, 2007 20:33

In all the years since Shell to Sea has opposed the insane & immoral planned refinery @ Bellanaboy, neither forced imprisonment, nor Garda brutality, nor media spin & lies, nor Shell's bribes towards the community & individuals has broken our resolve, & they never will. I am very thankful that there are people with the courage to resist the poison of the amoral multinational companies, to protect their homes, their families & their precious homeland. A marvellous environment like that in Erris can never be replaced, & shame on anyone who would sell out for gold. Keep up the resistance - your struggle inspires so many people around the world!

SHELL TO SEA STATEMENT - Bellanaboy, October 3rd 2007

by JM

Sat Oct 06, 2007 14:41

Rossport

We are gathered here this morning to mark the one-year anniversary of the illegally conducted occupation of our community, carried out by our own state forces on behalf of Shell and their so-called Corrib gas partners.

Twelve months ago today hundreds of Gardai were drafted into the parish of Kilcommon to enforce Shell's desire to resume operations on this disputed project, after a peaceful blockade had halted works here for fifteen months without incident.

In a cynical move to criminalise the community, Gardaí were ordered to push the protests away from Shell's gates and onto the public road. Once on the road, we were pushed and kicked, thrown over bridges and into ditches.

Vicious verbal and physical attacks, including the use of batons, were intended to frighten people away, and put an end to legitimate demonstration, in what is still a private dispute between the developers and the community over a project that is fundamentally experimental. We simply refuse be the guinea pigs.

It has been proved time and again that there is no scheme like this anywhere in the developed world. Shell, Statoil and Marathon have consistently failed to show another project where a high-pressure raw-gas pipeline travels through unstable ground, through a populated area, to an inland refinery, next to a major drinking-water supply.

Because of these facts the Corrib gas project, as proposed, does not and will never have community consent. We do not oppose development, but neither can we support development at any cost.

It is time for our public representatives to do their job. We are here exercising and protecting our basic human rights, because those charged with this task have failed to represent us.

In a statement last week, our Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern, on behalf of the Irish people, had this to say about the current situation in Burma;

"I am gravely concerned … that .. the … regime have today deployed troops onto the streets … who have used batons … to break up peaceful demonstrations, and that hundreds … have been arrested. The use of physical force … against … unarmed civilians, who have committed their lives to the path of non-violence, and who are simply exercising the basic right of freedom and expression in a peaceful manner, is unacceptable and deeply shocking. All people of conscience throughout the world … must condemn the use of force against unarmed civilians, demonstrating peacefully and demand the utmost restraint".

All we ask is that the same principles apply here in Ireland, and until our voice is heard and understood, our protest will continue.

Topaz owns them now..

by Sarah - S2s

Fri Oct 05, 2007 19:53

All the shell and statoil stations in ireland are owned by Topaz- in todays Irish times buisness section back page 'Topaz shells out on new image ' there is an article that suggests that they will soon be trading under different branding maybe Topaz on the forecourts.. now apparently they are going to spend up to €4 milion euro on their image so it might be worth highlighting how bad shells image is!
They still buy their supplies from shell or statoil though. Two more ideas might be to campaign about central heating oil- most people will soon be spending 300 euros plus on central heating oil ;if they boycotted shell for that it would make an impact also we could campaign to Topaz to change their supplier...anyone got Hugos phone number..fair trade petrol anyone?

get the protests nationwide

by gan ainm

Fri Oct 05, 2007 14:07

Myself and some others are heading down from belfast on the 12th, but people need to be bringing protests to the shell stations nationwide. These targets are obviously more accessable to the rest of the country, they will show that this issue is also about the theft of irish resourses (as opposed to simply being a local enviromental issue), and if done right could help stretch gardai resourses.
Im thinking of how one of the things that forced the Brit governments hand on the 'drumcree' marching issue was their knowledge that police resources were being stretched, not on the Garvaghy road itself but all around the country where others came out in solidarity with the residents.
We can use that example here.

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Shell to Sea- A struggle that won't go away

Comments (24 of 24)