Ryan rejects licences for uranium exploration

Prospecting licences to two companies seeking to explore for uranium in Donegal have been refused by the Minister for Natural Resources Eamon Ryan.Mr Ryan said that by declining the applications for licences - the first step in the mining process - he was signalling a wider policy decision to prohibit such activity in Ireland."It would be hypocritical to permit the extraction of uranium for use in nuclear reactors in other countries, while the nuclear generation of electricity is not allowed in Ireland and particularly while the Irish Government continues to object to the operation of nuclear power generation at Sellafield and other locations," he said in a statement.

Uranium prospecting licences were granted previously in the 1970s and 1980s, when the rare ore was discovered in Donegal, according to the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. The most recent applications were made just a few weeks ago."Granting a licence carries an implicit policy agreement permitting its extraction should a viable prospect be discovered," Mr Ryan said. "This is where my concern lies."The most likely end use of any uranium extracted in Ireland would be for nuclear electricity generation. There are also significant environmental and public health concerns surrounding uranium mining, including contamination of ground and surface water supplies and radiation levels."In this decision we are following the example set by other countries who remain opposed to the nuclear generation of electricity, such as New Zealand."

The Minister's decision was welcomed by Friends of the Irish Environment. It hoped it marked the advent of an "non-hypocritical energy regime."Meanwhile, local authority officials from Ireland and Britain will meet in Dublin this week to plan the next stage in their campaign to oppose the development of new nuclear power stations.Dublin City Council and South Dublin County Council will jointly host the annual British and Irish Local Authorities Conference on Nuclear Hazards, which will be attended by more than 50 delegates.

Themes include the resurgence of the nuclear lobby in Europe, British proposals for nuclear stations and alternative strategies for meeting energy needs and tackling climate change. The conference will be opened by Mr Ryan on Friday.

Ruadhán Mac Cormaic
The Irish Times

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Statoil in new Mayo gas exploration

STATOIL, one of the partners behind the Corrib gas project, has begun searching for gas in an adjacent area off the Mayo coast which is four times the size of the original Corrib field.

The firm's public affairs manager, Kai Nielsen, confirmed that it would carry out seismic tests in the area this summer and hoped to drill a test well there next year.

He said that, if any gas was found, it was possible that Statoil could use the controversial Corrib gas pipeline being built by Shell to transport it.

Statoil co-owns the exploration rights to the two areas it plans to explore with Shell but, unlike with the Corrib gas project, it is the senior partner and will be solely responsible for the exploration work.

Although the two companies have held one of the areas since 1994, they secured the right to explore another area last year. The two areas have a total area of 1,970 square kilometres, compared to 467 square kilometres for the area that produced the Corrib find.

A test well drilled by Statoil in 2003 in the area secured in 1994 found gas and oil deposits. However, Nielsen said the risks involved in the project were high and that there was no guarantee that Statoil would find anything.

"There's been a lot of activity off the west coast of Ireland but virtually nothing has been found, " he said. "Our view is that we have a fair chance."

Nielsen said if gas was found in commercial quantities, it would be at least five years before Statoil would be in a position to exploit it.

A spokeswoman for Shell declined to comment on the possibility of Statoil using the Corrib gas pipeline to transport any gas finds. She said it was too early to make any predictions or plans.

"Seismic surveys and exploration drilling would need to be carried out first in order to understand the field make-up and to find out whether there are hydrocarbons present, " she said.

Sunday Tribune