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Securing our Energy Future
The Corrib gas field is a medium-sized reserve in world terms, but it nevertheless has the potential to supply up to 60% of Ireland’s gas needs at peak production – an extremely valuable contribution at a time when the country’s energy supply is increasingly vulnerable.
Currently, Ireland is at the end of a very long pipeline, importing 96% of its gas supplies from Europe via an interconnector pipeline from the UK. In the event of political instability or an interruption of Russian gas supplies to Europe – as happened for a short period in January 2009 – gas supplies to Ireland can be affected.
So the importance of securing Ireland’s energy supply has come into stark focus. Renewable energy sources will take many years to develop, therefore, as energy consumption increases, bringing indigenous gas supplies to market has become increasingly more important.
To date, 182 exploration and appraisal wells have been drilled in Irish territorial waters. The only producing indigenous gas source is located at Kinsale Head. This field began producing in 1978 and now contains severely diminished quantities of gas.
Against this background, it is more important than ever that Corrib Gas is brought to the Irish market as quickly as possible.
Once in production, gas from the Corrib field will be distributed to homes and businesses throughout Ireland via the Bord Gáis Eireann national grid. As a result of the Corrib project the BGE distribution network is being extended to an additional 12 towns in County Galway and County Mayo.
The Ecology Foundation - Energy Security - Ireland on the edge (PDF, 225 KB) - opens in new window