Drilling Freeze: EU energy bosses calls unlikely to be heeded by North Sea industry. Pic: © iStockphoto
The EU’s energy chief has repeated his call for a ban on new North Sea drilling, to the disappointment of industry leaders and politicians.
Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger wants a total ban on new oil exploration anywhere in the EU following the Mexican oil disaster.
Industry leaders met with Mr Oettinger on Wednesday where he reiterated his stance. A decision on proposals for EU-wide legislation will be made later this year.
In a statement Oil & Gas UK chief executive Malcolm Webb said: “In the UK, we have strong and competent regulators in the Department of Energy and the offshore safety division of the Health and Safety Executive, who preside over a robust regulatory regime borne out of the recommendations of the Cullen report. This safety regime has served us well for over 20 years of operations, during which time nearly 7,000 wells have been successfully drilled on the UK continental shelf.
“The Cullen report was produced following the 1988 Piper Alpha disaster, in which 167 people lost their lives. The goal-setting nature of the regime places the onus firmly on the industry to continually demonstrate to the Health and Safety Executive that the companies are taking measures to minimise the risk of oil and gas releases to as low as reasonably practicable.”
However Mr Webb went on to say that despite the regulations the North Sea oil industry is not complacent and pointed to the work of oil spill prevention and response advisory group set up following the Mexican oil disaster.
MEP Alyn Smith claims the commissioner is “missing the point” by comparing “lax US standards” to the tightly regulated North Sea industry.
"There is as much oil still under the North Sea and, crucially, under the North Atlantic, as has already been taken out, and the oil and gas sector will remain a vital part of Scotland and Europe's energy mix for years to come, even as we develop our glittering renewables potential.
"For the Commissioner to talk of a ban at a point when the energy sector remains fragile, albeit recovering, is distinctly unhelpful, particularly when the case for one has simply not been made”, he said.
IN DETAIL
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North Sea warning over Mexican oil disaster
