County Mayo Activists oppose Shell's raw gas pipeline

Work will start in July & continue till mid-October. The idea is that groups or individuals pledge to stop a borehole at a some time this summer. Actions could range from walking out on the sands to boarding drilling rigs. The aim is to get each of the 80 boreholes assigned a Beat the Borehole group. Between local groups, national Shell to Sea groups, other supportive political groups, groups from abroad, student groups, surfers, kayakers we might just do it! The project is already a decade late and three times over budget; impressive for a small community fighting one of the biggest multinationals in the world!

Why Stop the boreholes?

Shell plan to build a tunnel at a cost of 100million euro under the estuary linking up the offshore pipeline with the refinery. This new route avoids land at Rossport where 5 local men were sent to jail for opposing Shell 5 years ago. The new route is still within 250m of several houses & the local community remains opposed to the plans. The boreholes are to provide a survey of the estuary to determine the final plans for the tunnel. Due to the tides, & seasonal nature of the job any disruption to work will slow the process down & could prevent them getting an adequate survey done this year. They have to stop in mid-Oct on the arrival of the Brent Geese. The estuary is a Specially Protected Area & part of the Broadhaven bay Special Area of Conservation. The operation will damage parts of the estuary & disturb the wildlife there, particularly Atlantic salmon, otters & birds found on the intertidal areas. Each borehole will take 2.5 days & up to 4 a week could be made. They will be drilling from 7am-7pm every week day but not at weekends. There will be movement of barges & personnel outside these hours. Two jack-up barges will be working at once in the estuary.