ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(81)394
Vol.1981/0121

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COMMISSION
OFTHE
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
GeneraSecretariatCOM(81)394final
Brussels,17July1981
FOROFFICIAL USEONLY
RequestfortheunanimousassentoftheCouncilunder
Article54paragraph 2oftheECSCTreatyonthepartial
financingofaprojectdesignedtoprovideNaturalGas
tothesteelmakingplantofIrishSteelinHaulbowline,
Cork,Ireland.
t
(Communication fromtheCommission totheCouncil)
C0MC81)394finali

ForOfficiaiUseOnly
Communication totheCouncil
Subject:RequestfortheunanimousassentoftheCouncilunder
Article54oaragraph 2oftheECSCTreatyonthepartial
financingofaprojectdesignedtoprovideNaturalGas
totheSteelmakingplantofIrishSteelinHaulbov/line,
Cork,Ireland.
Loan
requested :IR£1.8million(±ECU2.6million)
Borrower :BGE-TheIrishGasFoard
BGE-TheIrishGasBoardwasestablished on13t;hSeptember
1976underSection3oftheGasAct1976,asthestatutory -
authorityforthetransitussionanddistributionofnaturalgas.
Itisunderthedirectresponsibility oftrieMinisterfor
Industry,ComnerceandEnergy.
TheNaturalGasindustryisnewtoIrelandandatoresent
Thereisonlyonereservoirofgas,namelytheKinsale
HeadFieldwhichwasdiscoveredasaresultofoff-shore
drillingbyMarathonPetroleumIrelandLimited(Marathon).
Theestimatedreservesofnaturalgasareonetrillioncubic
feet.
BGEhasenteredintoasupplycontractwithMarathonfor
20years,from1stSeptember1978tosuoplv124million
cubicfeetperday.Thegasisprovidedtoaterminalat
InchontheIrishmainland.BGEthenprovidesthegasfrom
theterminalbymeansofapipelinetothenitrogennlanc
atMarino(52millioncubicfeet)andthepowerstactionat
Aghada(72millioncubicfeet).

-2-
ThepipelinehasbeenextendedtothecityofCorkwhereitis
providingback-upsuppliestothepowerstationatMarinoand
theCorkGasBoard.
Therequirements allocatedtothepowerstationwillprobably
notbefullyneededandBGE'sobjectiveis'toprovidegasto
anumberoflocalindustries ,particularly thosewhichare
goingtohaveanaddedvalueinemploymenttermstotheCork
area.ThefirstmainrecipientisIrishSteelHoldings.
Projectforwhichfinancialassistanceisrequired
Cost:IR£3,8million
Description'oftheProject
TheaimoftheinvestmentistheextensionoftheoiDeline
fromCorktotheIrishSteelHoldingsplantatHaulbowline .Thiswill
involvetheinstallation of13,8kilometreof18Mreducingto1211
gaspipeline.
BGEwereapproachedforasuoplyofnaturalgasbyIrishS£eel,
whoareinthecourseofconstructingtheirnewplant,whichisbeing
modernisedandreorganised .Thenaturalgaswillbeamoresuitable
fuelthanotheralternatives asitismoreefficientandeasierto
handleresultingingreaterproductivity inthenewplant.
Thenaturalgastobesuooliedis99.3%Methane,hasaverylovf
Sulphur"contentoflessthan5ppmwithacalorificvalueof980PTU/ft"'
andisavailablefromanindigeneissupply-theseireverysignificant .
factorstoIrishSteel.
BGEhasreceivedtheagreementoftheIrishGovernmentto
_undertaketheextensiontoIrishSteelandthenioelineandtheAbove
GroundInstallations (A.G.I.)arelaidaccordingtoBritishGasStandards.
Fullregardispaidtopollutionandiinparticularnoise,levelsofwhich
aremonitoredandacousticinsulationisinstalledwhererequired.
Thereisnoeffluentassociatedwiththecoerationandtheroutingof
thepipelinehasfullregardtopopulationdensitieswithstrictrules
applicabletopipelinedesigns..
TheAboveGroundInstallations aredesignedandlocatedinfull
discussionwiththePlanningAuthorities ,fromwhomfinalapprovalhas
beenreceived.Furthermoreallstatutorybodieshavebeenconsulted
suchas.theIrishFarmersAssociation ,Archaelogical andGeological
interests,theNationalHeritagebody,theCorkHarbourCommissioners
andFireAuthorities .

-3-
ProposedFinancingbytheCorrruniiy
ThetotalcostoftheprojectisestimatedacIR£3,8million
basedonpricesrulingatSeptember1979andincludinganticipatedinflationof1.5%permonthtoJune1980.Thetimingoftheinvestment
isexoectedtofallwithintheoeriod Aoril-August1980withamedian
outlaydateof30thJune1980.
TheamountofloanproposedisthereforeIR£1.8millionwhich
represents50/>ofthemacerial(steelpipe)andconstructioncosts.
Conclusions
TheNationalGassuppliedwillbeasuitablefuelaoi-isefficientandeasytohandle.Thiswillresultingreaterproductivity
intheIrishSteelHoldings,steelmakingplantwhichisinthecourse
ofbeingmodernisedandreorganised .
Theseconsiderations wouldsuggestthatafavourableviews.iould
betakenoftheloanapplicationbecausetheinvestmentinvolvedwillcontributedirectlytotheachievementoftheobjectivesoutlinedby
Article54,oaragraoh2oftheECSCTreaty.
TheCorrmissionhastakenafavourabledecisioninprincipleto
extendtheloanrequested.Inconsequence,inconformtvwithAracl^
54,oaragraph2oftheECSCTreaty,theCorrmissionrequeststhea-enc^ tv,^.rrantinoofaloanofIRE1.8milliontoBGE-54oaragraph2oftheECSCTreaty,theCorrmissionrequestof'theCounciltothegrantingofaloanofIR£1.8millior
TheIrishGas^oard.
2264/81en