Fifty full-time jobs will be created at Pulathomas in north Mayo when Enterprise Oil has its gas terminal built and in operation in two years' time.
The company, which will be drilling gas from the Corrib field 50 miles off the Belmullet coastline, plans to have the gas on the commercial market in Dublin by January 2003.
The managing director of Enterprise Oil, Mr Brian O Cathin, outlined his company's plan when he addressed members of Mayo County Council in Castlebar on Monday. "Five hundred people will be employed during the construction of the gas terminal and up to 1,000 jobs will be created during the construction of the gas pipeline in the summer of 2002," Mr O Cathin said.
While the construction jobs will be temporary ones, the jobs at the gas terminal will be fulltime positions requiring a semiskilled to skilled workforce.
"We are confident that we will find these workers in the locality. When Coca-Cola set up in neighbouring Ballina last year, they received 3,000 applications for 150 jobs. The Coca-Cola manager told me he was astounded by the high quality of the applicants. This is very encouraging," Mr O Cathin said.
The route of the gas pipeline from Pulathomas to Dublin has not yet been decided by the company. Two options are still being considered. The first option, from Pulathomas to Galway, appears to be the most likely route. This line would then meet up with the Bord Gais proposed east/west pipeline from Dublin to Galway. The other choice is for the pipeline to go directly from Pulathomas to Dublin.
"We must make a decision on our route by the end of the year," Mr O Cathin said. "Galway is definitely our preferred route, but we will only choose this option if we have an absolute guarantee from Bord Gais and from the Irish Government that the east/west pipeline, not yet under construction, will be ready in time to meet our very tight schedule.
"Usually it would take about five years to get gas from a new well to the market place. From Corrib, we expect to get that done in half the time."