Western People- April 10th. 2002

From www.castlebar.ie

Local Papers Commentary
Western People- April 10th. 2002
By Castlebar Observer
Apr 12, 2002, 11:24

Renegotiate Gas Deal Call as Enterprise up for Sale

The proposed sale of Enterprise Oil- the UK based parent company of the Corrib Gas Field developers Enterprise Energy Ireland- to Royal Dutch Shell will not have any impact on the present proposals to bring the gas ashore in Mayo next year.
This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for Enterprise Energy Ireland yesterday (Monday) who added that the operation on the ground in relation to Corrib Gas remained in place and that no change was envisaged. When the news that Royal Dutch Shell was involved in the Enterprise deal reached Maura Harrington, a persistent opponent of Enterprise Energy Ireland she reacted with dismay, stating that “Royal Dutch Shell have a terrible environmental record. They have destroyed the lands of the Bogoni tribe in Nigeria in the interests of profit and I wonder what they will do here. Their record suggests they are not to be trusted”.
Election Candidate, Dr. Jerry Howley , expressing his concern about the deal called for the agreement between the state and Enterprise Energy to be re-negotiated as “the value of the Corrib field has obviously been understated and the tactics of such undervaluing can be seen in the announcement of a huge new gas discovery off the Old Head of Kinsale beside the existing field which will soon be depleted”

New Group to support US business in West

The American Chamber of Commerce and the chiefs of Mayo Industry in Galway and Mayo have formed a Western Business Group specifically focused on the business issues facing US companies in the West of Ireland. Mr. Tom Mc Cabe, Boston Scientific, said that they were delighted that the American Chamber of Commerce would be actively supporting US companies in the West of Ireland.
“There are some very challenging situations that need to be addressed, especially in the area of Infrastructure and and specifically the improvement of access to the west”. He added that the contribution of US companies to the region was enormous. In Galway and Mayo alone there were 44 companies providing over 13,000 jobs. When Spin-off and Service provider's employment was factored in, the total was in excess of 35,000. The value of exports by US-owned companies based in Ireland exceeds €26 bn.