The Cabinet will decide next Tuesday whether Bord Gais can build a second interconnector with Scotland, it is understood.

Separately, the board of Enterprise Oil is believed to have sanctioned full development of the Corrib gas field off Co Mayo. A spokeswoman for Enterprise's partner, Statoil, said its board would consider sanctioning the final part of the project when it meets later this month.

It is thought ministers at Tuesday's meeting will also be asked to sanction a study on the possible extension of the State firm's network to Sligo from Galway. Gas demand in the north-west means such a link would not be economic so the study is expected to analyse the need for a State subsidy to pay for any extension.

The possibility of exporting gas from the Bord Gais network to Northern Ireland may also be assessed. Bord Gais is thought to have discussed this in recent months with the Northern Ireland Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Sir Reg Empey.

Certain ministers have questioned Bord Gais's controversial proposal to build a second link with Scotland, but it is understood a memorandum circulated to the Cabinet says it should be sanctioned to prevent a possible gas shortage in winter 2002.

Bord Gais is understood to have told the Department of Public Enterprise in recent weeks that it would have to suspend supplying certain customers if rising demand exceeds its resources by then. Those customers included Irish Fertiliser Industries, which Bord Gais said would lose supplies from the beginning of a cold period until the end of winter.

The State company is also thought to have told the Department that its statutory obligation to ensure security of supply in the market was fulfilled by bringing the project to the point where it sought final approval from the Government.

The project will cost up to £300 million (#380 million) in increments, a matter said to be of concern to certain ministers. It is thought certain industry figures believe such expenditure would buttress Bord Gais against competitors in a liberalising market.

Still, the State company is believed to have expected a positive decision when the Cabinet met on January 30th. It is thought a press release was prepared in anticipation of such a decision, although no vote was taken.

When the Department of Public Enterprise informed other departments of its proposal before that meeting, some asked for more time to assess it.

Certain industry players are very unhappy that Bord Gais has not yet published a tariffing structure for use of the new inter connector, if it is built. This was the thrust of a letter sent by the business lobby IBEC to the Minister of State for Public Enterprise, Mr Joe Jacob, on January 25th.

Seen by The Irish Times, the letter said members of IBEC's gas users group had "very real concern" that new infrastructure changes were being considered without transparent procedures, and clear and exact information.

While there was no unanimous agreement among members of the group, the letter added: "It is a point of serious concern from a competitive and private investor/ consumer point of view, if any project is to be sanctioned without the publication of the procedures by which new pipelines are to be authorised and without the publication of third party access tariffs in advance."

The existence of two alternative sources of gas has been crucial to assessments of the plan to build the new interconnector.

The first of these is the Corrib field. But Enterprise's application to Mayo County Council to build a refining station near , Pollatomish, Co Mayo, is expected to be appealed to An Bord Pleanala. That will delay construction of the plant, without which Corrib gas cannot enter the Bord Gais network. Despite this, people familiar with Enterprise's plans insist the firm will bring gas to market in the second half of 2003.

Sources familiar with the assessments made by the Department Public Enterprise say this supply will not meet the shortage expected in winter 2002. The same point was made when referring to the other alternative supply, from a Belfast-Dublin pipeline planned by British Gas and US group KeySpan. That group, Premier Transmission, has suspended preliminary engineering work on its link. It plans a bespoke pipeline, built according to demand.