The survey vessel RV Celtic Explorer will undertake seabed mapping, side scan sonar survey, sub-bottom profiling and take seabed core and grab samples over a 5–7 week period commencing 29 July 2010.

Kinsale Energy’s Gas Storage Project will involve the conversion of the company’s nearly depleted Ballycotton reservoir, located around 40 km south of Cork Harbour, to gas storage service and the redevelopment of its existing onshore terminal at Inch. A new pipeline will also be required from the offshore reservoirs to the terminal at Inch.

Kinsale Energy will take natural gas from the BGE grid and bring it via existing transmission lines to the redeveloped Inch Terminal. At Inch, the gas will be compressed to the correct pressure for injection into the offshore reservoirs and transported out to the new gas storage facility via the new subsea pipeline and wells.

The new facilities, including the pipeline, are scheduled to be commissioned in 2014.