North Sea oil disasters pose a threat to nature, say activists
According to statistics given exclusively to BBC News, thousands of tonnes of oil have routinely leaked into UK waterways from oil and gas operations, endangering marine creatures like porpoises and orcas.
The data reveals that the leaks occurred over a five-year period and that some of them occurred in animal protection zones.
Although businesses are permitted to spill a small amount of oil during routine production, 40% of monitored spills violated licences.
All releases are taken very seriously, according to a representative of the sector.
According to Mark Wilson of Offshore Energies UK, which represents offshore oil producers in UK waters, “our industry is focused on driving continuous improvement.”
“Our latest data, covering 2022, published in our environment report shows that oil mass in produced water fell by 10%,” he continued.
Through Freedom of Information Act requests to the offshore oil and gas regulator, the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning, energy advocacy group Uplift received the data.
According to Uplift’s analysis, 22,000 metric tonnes, or 164,000 barrels, of oil were released into UK seas between 2017 and 2022. In contrast, 200 barrels of oil escaped during the Poole Harbour incident in March.
The oil and gas industry spills significantly more oil than the government considers safe, according to Uplift, a group that advocates switching from fossil fuels to green energy.
“We are now publicly disclosing for the first time the full scope of this accumulated contamination. When spills leak continuously, this is what happens. You have tar balls and droplets that are endangering animals by sinking to the ocean floor, according to Tessa Khan, director of Uplift.
Companies are given permissions that allow discharges and are permitted to leak some oil as a byproduct of ordinary production.
According to Offshore Energies UK, the UK yearly generates between 40 and 45 million tonnes of oil and up to 40 billion cubic metres of gas.
Offshore pollution events were closely watched, a government official said, adding, “We are clear that companies should not be violating their permission restrictions. If they do, the necessary action, including the imposition of fines, will be taken.
In addition, Uplift collaborated with SkyTruth, another NGO that examines satellite images of UK waterways. Images from 2020 to 2022 also demonstrate a significant amount of oil spills.
One cumulative slick covered a 91 sq km region and some of the detected slicks were 10 km long.
When compared to major catastrophes like Deepwater Horizon, when more than 125 million gallons of oil leaked, the amount of oil discharged is insignificant. Oceana’s director, Hugo Tagholm, disagreed, stating that “oil spills every other day from these routine releases are a huge problem for marine life.”
Many of the species in marine protected areas, such as harbour porpoises, deep sea sponges, and slow-growing cold water corals, have feeding and breeding habits that are threatened, he said.
Dana, Repsol Sinopec, CNR, Shell, and Apache were the top five businesses listed by Uplift as having the most oil spills between 2017 and 2022.
Dana and Shell responded by directing BBC News to a statement from Offshore Energies UK. Requests for response from Repsol Sinopec, CNR, and Apache went unanswered.
Whether the leaks are authorised or not, vital ecosystems are harmed, according to Oceana and Uplift, which are crucial for maintaining the health of the oceans and combating climate change.
According to an Oceana-commissioned evaluation of the scientific data on the effects of oil and gas pollution on UK seas, the waterways are currently ‘too noisy, filthy, built-up and disturbed for our rich marine species to survive.
The seas off the coast of the UK are among the richest and most diverse in the world, and they are home to several species, including harbour porpoises.
According to marine ecologist and report author Dr Fiona Gell, “oil and gas activities are a major contributor to the cumulative impacts on harbour porpoise and can potentially lead to their starvation as their food sources are affected and they use energy to avoid disturbances.”
In the UN High Seas Treaty and at an international conference on biodiversity in Montreal in 2022, the UK made significant international pledges to protect the UK and the world’s oceans.
According to Mr. Tagholm of Oceana, these discoveries jeopardise such promises and imperil the UK’s position as a global leader.
Additionally, Oceana stated that the results demonstrated that the government should forbid the development of additional oil and gas fields.
