Greenpeace calls for BP drilling permit in the North Sea to be canceled

This is a first according to Greenpeace.

An offshore oil drilling permit is contested on Wednesday by the environmental NGO.

In question, the Vorlich project carried out by the BP company, which consists of two wells, located about 240 km east of Aberdeen on the Scottish coast.

Its goal is to drill 30 million barrels of oil, with production of up to 20,000 barrels of crude per day.

Its cost is 200 million pounds.

The Edinburgh Court of Session, the highest court for civil cases in Scotland, will examine Greenpeace's complaint and hear the various parties until Thursday, according to a statement from the NGO.

The court's decision could take several months and is high at stake for the British government, which is organizing the COP26, the climate conference, in Glasgow, Scotland in November.

The NGO believes that the British government granted it in August 2018 without taking into account the impact on the climate, as it is now forced to do for new drilling.

Asked by AFP, BP declined to comment on the legal process.

Another contested drilling

Greenpeace hopes that this case may have consequences for another permit, that of the Cambo oil field to the Scottish Shetland Islands, which the government is about to validate.

"It is scandalous that the British government systematically approves oil permits, like this one and the Cambo one under review, while completely ignoring the climate impact," said Mel Evans, a Greenpeace official for the United Kingdom. United.

“BP's license must be canceled and Cambo must be stopped.

By establishing a clear path to phase out oil and gas the UK government must protect workers and communities through the energy transition, ”he said.

Greenpeace had obtained a first legal victory in April 2020 concerning the Vorlich field.

The NGO then obtained from the British government the publication of the drilling permit granted to BP, a first step in the procedure aimed at having it canceled.

In June 2019, Greenpeace forced a BP platform to change its route after several days of mobilization, thus disrupting its route to the Vorlich field.

Activists were notably mounted on the platform.