The European Union presented on Wednesday its plans to strengthen rules on offshore oil and gas drilling that could challenge small oil companies, while preventing any moratoriums on deep sea drilling in its waters.
The EU proposals are intended to guard Europe from an accident similar to what happened in the Gulf of Mexico in April that led to the deaths of 11 workers and massive pollution in the Gulf from the leaking of some 205 million gallons of oil. The Deepwater Horizon blowout is considered one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.
The United States earlier this week lifted the ban on offshore drilling approximately seven weeks before schedule.
“Safety is nonnegotiable. We have to make sure that a disaster similar to the one in the Gulf of Mexico will never happen in European waters,” Günther Oettinger, EU commissioner for Energy, said in a statement.
The new standards will pose strict rules in which an oil company must have a contingency plan and prove that its financial resources would allow it to cover any environmental damage caused by any future accident, the EU Commission said.
“Such an EU wide approach is deemed necessary, as the environmental, economic, and social damages caused by a possible offshore accident do not know borders,” the statement said, adding that the EU planed to make changes to legislation next spring.
Europe has more than 900 offshore oil drillings, with 486 of those in U.K. waters. Norway is currently the only nation to allow drilling activities as deep as 1,300 meters (4,265 feet), a similar depth to Deepwater Horizon.
Günther Oettinger proposed voting for a moratorium on deep sea drilling, but the move was not backed by EU Parliament or the U.K.
After the failure to win the ban, the commissioner said that it would depend on each EU country whether it wanted to impose a national moratorium or not.
Scottish Tory MEP Struan Stevenson responded that “there will be a review into safety procedures in all drilling operations” following the large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to The Parliament, the voice for the EU Parliament.
“We must remain vigilant to any risks to the environment. … [W]e also cannot shut down an entire industry around the U.K. when our safety culture here is totally different,” he said.
However, Greenpeace strongly supports a ban on deep drilling operations, saying that no matter how tight the rules, this kind of drilling could ultimately lead to a Deepwater Horizon-like spill in Europe.
“Deep water drilling should be banned. We simply don’t need it if we boost fuel efficiency,” Greenpeace EU transport policy adviser Franziska Achterberg said in response to the new EU rules proposals.
“Regulators will always be playing catch-up as the industry chases after ever dirtier and more dangerous fuel reserves to keep up with demand,” he added.
The EU proposals are intended to guard Europe from an accident similar to what happened in the Gulf of Mexico in April that led to the deaths of 11 workers and massive pollution in the Gulf from the leaking of some 205 million gallons of oil. The Deepwater Horizon blowout is considered one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.
The United States earlier this week lifted the ban on offshore drilling approximately seven weeks before schedule.
“Safety is nonnegotiable. We have to make sure that a disaster similar to the one in the Gulf of Mexico will never happen in European waters,” Günther Oettinger, EU commissioner for Energy, said in a statement.
The new standards will pose strict rules in which an oil company must have a contingency plan and prove that its financial resources would allow it to cover any environmental damage caused by any future accident, the EU Commission said.
“Such an EU wide approach is deemed necessary, as the environmental, economic, and social damages caused by a possible offshore accident do not know borders,” the statement said, adding that the EU planed to make changes to legislation next spring.
Europe has more than 900 offshore oil drillings, with 486 of those in U.K. waters. Norway is currently the only nation to allow drilling activities as deep as 1,300 meters (4,265 feet), a similar depth to Deepwater Horizon.
Günther Oettinger proposed voting for a moratorium on deep sea drilling, but the move was not backed by EU Parliament or the U.K.
After the failure to win the ban, the commissioner said that it would depend on each EU country whether it wanted to impose a national moratorium or not.
Scottish Tory MEP Struan Stevenson responded that “there will be a review into safety procedures in all drilling operations” following the large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to The Parliament, the voice for the EU Parliament.
“We must remain vigilant to any risks to the environment. … [W]e also cannot shut down an entire industry around the U.K. when our safety culture here is totally different,” he said.
However, Greenpeace strongly supports a ban on deep drilling operations, saying that no matter how tight the rules, this kind of drilling could ultimately lead to a Deepwater Horizon-like spill in Europe.
“Deep water drilling should be banned. We simply don’t need it if we boost fuel efficiency,” Greenpeace EU transport policy adviser Franziska Achterberg said in response to the new EU rules proposals.
“Regulators will always be playing catch-up as the industry chases after ever dirtier and more dangerous fuel reserves to keep up with demand,” he added.
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