Bord Gβis may be forced to bear the largest share of the construction costs of a proposed multimillion pound gas pipeline in Northern Ireland after its US partner walked away from the project. The board said it would review its options and may look to recruit another partner to share the costs of the gas pipeline that will run from Belfast to Derry.
Bord Gβis had teamed up with Questar, the US natural gas giant, to apply for a licence to build the pipeline.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment yesterday confirmed that Questar had withdrawn its support for "strategic planning" reasons.
Mr Douglas McIldoon, director of the Office for the Regulation of Energy and Gas in Northern Ireland, was in the process of considering the application from Bord Gβis and Questar.
A spokeswoman for Bord Gβis said the company remained committed to the project and would be pursuing the outcome of the application with Mr McIldoon.
"The project is subject to the application for a licence being approved but we are fully committed to the Belfast-to-Derry gas pipeline. We have no intention of not proceeding with the project.
"The gas pipeline is scheduled to be completed by 2004 and we are confident that schedule will be met.
"We are reviewing our options as regards the financing of the project but we have made no decision yet whether we intend to look for another partner or to go ahead on our own," the spokeswoman said.
Questar first applied to develop a gas pipeline in the North more than two years ago. It then decided to team up with Bord Gβis and reapplied for a licence some 12 months ago.
The Irish Government is likely to provide £10 million (€12.7 million) towards the cost of the pipeline while the Northern Ireland Assembly will also provide substantial finance towards the £38 million sterling (€61 million) grants package.
Although Bord Gβis has not released details of its financial share of the project it was estimated that Questar had earmarked £100 million towards the cost of the pipeline.
The proposed gas pipeline is a crucial component of ESB International's plans to develop a £150 million sterling power station in Derry, with its joint venture partner, Coolkeeragh.
