Mayo People urge Shell to relocate Refinery

Residents opposed to the building of a controversial gas refinery near their homes in the north of Co. Mayo made a fresh appeal to Shell in Ireland today to suspend work on the project and to relocate the terminal to a more remote coastal site.

The residents include three of the men from the "Shell to Sea" campaign, who were jailed for three months in 2005 for opposing a planned pipeline.

The loosely organised group says that all of the problems surrounding the project would be "solved in one move" if the company agreed to its proposal to relocate the terminal.

The Mayo residents stated that they are "not anti-gas", but are very concerned about health, safety and the environment. They say their proposal represents an opportunity for resolution, and the conflict can be resolved by agreement and respect.

A spokesman for Shell E&P said it would be making no comment on the proposal.

The € 200 million refinery (left) is already one-third built, and sources say that there is "little to no likelihood" the plant will be relocated.
Residents of North Mayo, however, are not giving up hope and believe that there are still options to achieve a compromise that could lead to a good and peaceful co-existence between the refinery and the local people.

The Emerald Islander