Pipeline safety auditor ‘linked’ to Shell

A BRITISH company that won a State contract to carry out an independent safety review of Shell’s pipeline plans for North Mayo was not asked whether it had any business dealings with Shell.

As the “Rossport Five” began their second week in jail for opposing the pipeline, it emerged that AEA Technology has regularly worked with Shell, but Minister for Natural Resources Noel Dempsey did not ask the company to disclose this information.

It is the second time a review has been carried out by a company with links to Shell. Mr Dempsey bowed to pressure to commission the second review after it emerged the first was carried out by BPA (British Pipeline Agency), a company part-owned by Shell UK.

The AEA review, like the first, backed Shell’s own safety assessment, finding the risks associated with the high pressure pipeline were “tolerable.”

AEA company reports and promotional material show it has had strong links with Shell over several years. A 1998 document states: “Shell’s safety experts use AEA Technology’s software to help understand potential fire hazards from high pressure gas releases.”

It is Shell’s assessment of potential hazards relating to the North Mayo pipeline that Mr Dempsey asked AEA to review.

The Irish Examiner submitted questions to AEA yesterday which the company sought time to answer.

The minister, however, insisted the review was independent and defended his decision not to ask AEA whether Shell was a customer.

Protests continued yesterday at the Shell compound at Bellanaboy in Mayo where the company is building a terminal to link up with the pipeline, causing work to be suspended for a second day.

A small group of protestors also blockaded the Shell Central Oil Depot in Cork for a short time.

The Rossport Five, Micheal O’ Seighin, Vincent and Philip McGrath, Willie Corduff and Brendan Philbin, were warned by a High Court judge yesterday that only they could secure their release from prison.

The five will have to promise not to breach an injunction by obstructing Shell’s access to their land. Shell was given compulsory acquisition orders allowing them to carry out pipeline works in spite of the landowners’ opposition.