With oil & gas seen as ‘wreaking havoc’ in UK waters, zest to end offshore drilling ignites

The UK has a long history of oil and natural gas exploration and extraction on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), which helped strengthen the country’s energy security, providing it with some breathing room when it comes to its reliance on gas imports. However, outrage over oil spills and the climate crisis is mounting, as the calls for putting an end to drilling, new exploration licences and production approvals for offshore oil and gas developments have intensified. The findings in a recent report about the way oil spills are impacting the UK waters are bound to spur these calls even further.

A new report, titled In Deep Water: Exposing the hidden impacts of oil and gas on the UK’s seas, which was commissioned by Oceana and the climate campaign group Uplift, is described as the first-ever comprehensive review of how the oil and gas industry is damaging UK seas. According to Oceana, the report will act as a springboard to developing “a new wave of opposition” to the development of offshore oil and gas, specifically “due to the threat it poses to marine biodiversity, Marine Protected Areas, and coastal economies,” since UK waters are well known for their abundance of large whales, dolphins and seabirds, seals, deep sponge communities and cold water reefs; many of which are endangered species.

In line with this, Oceana explains that these species are subject to “a constant flow of small oil spills, which has the potential to kill sea life and to significantly impact the life chances and reproductive success of others,” based on the published FOI data in the report. Aside from routine oil spills, the report shows how oil and gas production “harms marine life” through toxic chemicals, microplastics, and extreme noise pollution through seismic blasting while satellite imagery from SkyTruth illustrates “this chronic oiling in UK waters from space.”

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The FOI data points out that over 22,000 tonnes of oil – 164,780 barrels of oil – have been released into UK waters by the oil and gas industry in the last five years, despite claims touted by the government that the UK is a global leader in marine protection, having committed to protecting 30 per cent of the world’s oceans by 2030, outlines Oceana. For the international advocacy organisation dedicated to ocean conservation, the fact that the UK government is giving out new licences for oil and gas development in UK Marine Protected Areas sits in stark contradiction with these promises.

The report from Oceana and Uplift highlights that the oil and gas industry is harming the UK waters in three ways, encompassing pollution from oil, chemicals and noise; destruction of habitats, food chains and marine life; and weakening of UK seas when they need restoring. As a result, the two players are calling for an end to new exploration licences or production approvals for offshore oil and gas developments, since “before the UK can start showing leadership on marine protection globally, we need to get our own house in order.”

When it comes to the pollution from oil, chemicals and noise, the report outlines that oil and gas developments are “a major source of pollution” in UK seas, including oil spills, the release of chemicals and microplastics during all phases of production, and a wide range of noise pollution. As an example, chronic oil pollution is mentioned, since it is often unreported or underreported when released in wastewater and in small but routine spills, which can lead to large volumes of oil being released into the sea, including protected areas.

In addition, the exploration, drilling, and decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure lead to the release of toxic chemicals, including PAHs and mercury, which cause “extreme harm or even death” to individual creatures across species populations and whole ecosystems while micro-plastic waste is also released as part of the extraction process, “directly polluting the marine environment,” underlines the report.

In light of this, noise pollution, created by all stages of oil and gas production, is another “major cause of harm,” impacting entire ecosystems while seismic airgun surveys – which the report describes as “the loudest and most damaging” source of anthropogenic marine noise pollution used almost exclusively in offshore oil and gas exploration – causes severe harm to protected marine mammals, commercially important fish species and invertebrates.

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Beyond creating these types of direct pollution in the UK seas, Oceana and Uplift emphasise that oil and gas developments are harming some of the UK’s marine habitats, vital food chains and whole ecosystems, as the UK waters are home to biodiverse habitats, such as deep sponge communities, cold water corals, deep sea mud and sandbanks. As oil rigs and other infrastructure are built on or near some of these, the duo claims that this is leading to habitat loss and some could take decades or more to recover, if at all.

As deep-sea sponge communities and cold-water corals cycle nutrients in the ocean, the report indicates that losing or degrading these habitats jeopardises this crucial function while oil and gas activity also has multiple negative effects on plankton, the basis of marine food webs from noise and oil pollution, persistent chemicals and contamination by microplastics.

With this in mind, Oceana and Uplift believe that allowing continued investment in new oil and gas developments will mean decades more of these impacts on the UK’s marine environment at a time when the country needs to be investing in restoring its seas, thus, permitting new oil and gas activity in designated protected areas “fundamentally undermines” their potential to restore biodiversity and provide the many other benefits – from supporting sustainable fisheries to protecting the UK coasts – that the country gains from having a thriving marine environment.

“UK waters play a critical role too in tackling the climate crisis. Expanding oil and gas production impacts our seas’ ability to act as a carbon store both directly, weakening this function by degrading the marine environment and increasing emissions. The continued burning of fossil fuels is having a catastrophic impact on the world’s oceans and seas. Unless it is rapidly halted, it will lead to the ecological collapse of many marine ecosystems,” highlighted Oceana and Uplift’s report.

Oceana underscores that fossil fuel company executives always cite environmental standards and the safety measures in place for offshore oil and gas drilling, claiming the level of risk is negligible and that the ongoing expansion of new fossil fuels does not pose a significant threat to marine life or other industries dependent on a clean and healthy ocean ecosystem. The international advocacy organisation elaborates that these executives cosy up to fishing industry representatives, set up funds to tempt community support, and use their colossal financial might to push environmentalists out of the way.

To hammer home the dangers of this approach, Oceana elaborates that such tactics were also used before the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, when eleven rig workers lost their lives while an estimated 750 million litres of oil were spilt into the Gulf, causing a tidal wave of environmental and economic impacts. This disaster spewed oil out into the ocean for 87 days, forcing the closure of almost 300,000 square kilometres of productive fishing grounds, and decimating some of the most commercially valuable fish species for months after the spill ended.

The horrific sight of oiled birds, turtles and other animals filled TV screens, says Oceana while adding that around 800,000 birds and 65,000 turtles are thought to have died because of the spill. While the Deepwater Horizon tragedy took place in the United States, the UK is no stranger to oil spills, as recent decades have seen tanker spills devastating wildlife, coastlines and economies in Scotland and Wales.

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As an example, Oceana lists the 1993 Braer tanker spill in Shetland, which saw 85,000 tonnes of crude oil being lost, killing over 1,500 birds, and impacting over a quarter of the local seal population. This damaged the local fishing industry, with a 400-mile fisheries exclusion zone being established, long-term damage to shell fisheries and serious reputational impacts on the previously highly coveted Shetland seafood.

Another example would be the Sea Empress, which ran aground off Wales a few years later, spilling 72,000 tonnes of crude oil, coating the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park with pollution. This is seen as one of Europe’s most ecologically sensitive and important wildlife and marine conservation areas. As a consequence of this incident, thousands of seabirds were killed and shoreline ecosystems were seriously affected, as the removal of oil from the coastline took over a year and the overall impact on wildlife was never fully calculated.

However, this list would not be complete without mentioning the 1988 Piper Alpha tragedy, when the oil platform – located in the North Sea approximately 190 km northeast of Aberdeen and operated by Occidental Petroleum – exploded and sank, killing 165 offshore workers, as well as a further two rescue workers after their rescue vessel was destroyed by the disintegrating rig.

With a total insured loss of approximately £1.7 billion (£5 billion in 2021), it is seen as one of the costliest man-made catastrophes ever. When this tragedy struck, Piper Alpha accounted for approximately 10 per cent of North Sea oil and gas production and the blame for this accident was put on inadequate maintenance and safety procedures by Occidental, though no charges were brought.

Keeping all the consequences of oil spills at the forefront, Oceana claims that the current UK government is placing the marine ecosystems at further risk from the rampant fossil fuel industry, as the government opened a licensing round for new offshore oil and gas in 2022 with 900 locations offered for exploration and 100 new development and drilling licenses set to be awarded.

The international advocacy organisation states that proposed new offshore drilling sites, particularly in the North Sea, are located near or even in some of the UK’s most important designated Marine Protected Areas that “you would rightfully think are fully protected from this type of industrialisation and pollution risk.”

In Oceana’s view, new offshore drilling is at odds with the UK’s ambition to protect 30 per cent of its seas by 2030, as part of the widely heralded 30×30 movement, sitting in direct conflict with the country’s international climate commitments and the Paris climate agreement.

Therefore, the organisation underlines that continuing to license new oil projects increases the risk of catastrophic oil spills, as exploration is driven into deeper water, which can have devastating and long-term impacts on marine ecosystems, from valuable blue carbon habitats including kelp, seagrass and mudflats, through to the slow-growing and sensitive deep-sea ecosystems.

Moreover, Oceana claims that the cumulative long-term impacts of chronic oil, chemical and plastic pollution from oil rigs grow with the increasing risk of a catastrophic spill, as wastewater from oil rigs, laden with oil and chemicals represents large volumes of oil released inside and close to the UK’s Marine Protected Areas.

In lieu of this, the organisation says that it is time to stop “the monolithic, polluting, and profiteering oil giants,” as the transition to “green industries and energy is coming, just as oil once displaced the outdated whaling industry for our heating, fuel, and lighting needs.”

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As the UK taxpayer is currently subsidising the oil and gas giants that are “compromising the health of our seas,” Oceana underscores that there is “no economic reason to support the further expansion of offshore oil and gas, nor will it lower household energy bills or provide any more energy security.”

Regarding the jobs in the oil and gas sector, the international organisation believes these should be transitioned to offshore wind and renewable energy, as recent studies have shown that offshore wind is now nine times cheaper than fossil fuels, thus, there is “a cleaner, greener, and bluer future ahead, albeit with its own impacts, trade-offs and compromises.”

Since Oceana is under the impression that offshore drilling for oil and gas threatens marine life, low-impact fishing economies, recreation, and tourism with the pollution from burning fossil fuels being the leading cause of climate change and ocean acidification, the organisation is working to prevent the expansion of offshore drilling in locations around the world.

While talking about the #StopCombo and #StopRosebank environmentalists’ campaigns, Oceana outlines that these are established climate movements fighting new oil and gas developments in the North Sea, which have fought the Cambo oilfield development project and are presenting “a robust opposition” to the huge Rosebank project, the biggest undeveloped oilfield in the North Sea. For the international organisation, the environmental consequences of developing this site would be catastrophic.

“In the UK, exploration and development of new offshore oil and gas in the North Sea threaten some of the most important and productive marine ecosystems in Europe. Working with the Uplift climate movement, Oceana is building a new marine front to opposing all new offshore oil and gas in the UK. There is no justification for the UK to pursue the folly of new fossil fuels in our seas,” concluded Oceana.

In response to the report’s findings, the #StopRosebank movement claims that the UK oceans are “at a breaking point” while the UK’s oil and gas industry is “wreaking havoc on our precious marine life,” thus, it is time to look “at the ugly truth” beneath the surface, as the climate and biodiversity threats reach “critical points” and the government continues to push for new oil and gas developments “in direct contradiction to the shift towards net-zero.”

#StopRosebank highlights that Oceana and Uplift’s report reveals “the shocking extent of the damage” to the UK seas caused by the country’s dependence on fossil fuels, pinpointing “the urgent case for halting new offshore oil and gas extraction in UK waters,” as marine life is being threatened by direct pollution from production, including oil spills, deafening noise levels, and the release of microplastics and toxic chemicals – with marine conservation experts calling the impacts “devastating.”

The report’s key findings expose that 22,326 tonnes of oil – which could cover all of Wales – were spilt into UK waters by oil and gas companies between 2017-2022, with over half being dumped legally through government-issued permits. On the other hand, oil and gas companies operating in UK waters routinely breach permits and regulations on oil discharges, according to #StopRosebank’s understanding of the report.

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The list of some of the biggest offenders includes Dana (Korea) and Repsol Sinopec (China), which emerged at the top of the bunch, releasing 6,000 and 2,400 tonnes of oil into UK waters and breaching their permits and regulations 271 and 216 times, respectively. The UK-headquartered Shell was the fifth polluter over the five-year period, releasing over 3,200 tonnes of oil and reporting 169 breaches. BP released over 1,000 tonnes and reported 133 breaches while Ithaca Energy, which has a stake in both Cambo and Rosebank, released nearly 900 tonnes over the five-year period and breached its permits and regulations 48 times.

As the undeveloped oil fields such as Rosebank and Cambo would see pipelines and infrastructure cut through the protected Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt Nature Conservation MPA, #StopCombo and #StopRosebank claim that this would cause habitat loss, disturbance, and pollution, as the area is home to diverse sponge aggregations, long-finned pilot whales, Atlantic white-sided dolphins, and centuries-old ocean quahogs.

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“We cannot allow these precious ecosystems to be destroyed. The conflict between protecting marine biodiversity and expanding oil and gas extraction is completely unacceptable – we must demand UK leadership on ocean protection to begin at home. Healthy seas and marine ecosystems are crucial to support fisheries, reduce coastal erosion, protect water quality, and regulate our local climate, as well as provide a sanctuary for the rich variety of animals and plants that call the UK’s seas home,” added #StopRosebank.

Additionally, a significant oil spill from Rosebank could risk serious impact to these species in at least 16 UK Marine Protected Areas while a major blowout could reach not just the shores around Scotland and Norway but as far as the coasts of Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, elaborates #StopRosebank movement.

“This government is prepared to wreck the climate, trash the oceans and give out billions in tax breaks all so the oil industry can continue making obscene profits. Rosebank would be a disaster for our planet and our seas,” emphasised the #StopRosebank movement while adding that it is going to work with groups across the UK to stop this project and all new oil fields over the next few months.

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The Rosebank oil and gas field is estimated to contain 300 million bbl of potentially recoverable reserves. The development cost for this project is estimated at £4.1 billion, plus a further £3.6 billion in operating expenses. If sanctioned, the Rosebank project is expected to create £8.1 billion of direct investment – including the development, operation and decommissioning of the field – based on Equinor’s projections. The final investment decision (FID) is planned for 3Q 2023.

Equinor has picked Altera Infrastructure’s FPSO Petrojarl Knarr, which previously worked for Shell on the Knarr field in the North Sea off Norway, for the Rosebank project and Aker Solutions together with Dubai Drydocks World will work on revamping this FPSO.

The reuse of the FPSO, as opposed to building a new one, is expected to avoid 250,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. With a production capacity of 63,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, this FPSO has a storage capacity of 800,000 barrels.