FOINAVEN SITE TARGETED BY GREENPEACE AS ACTIVISTS LOCK ON TO DRILLING PLATFORM
9 August 1997
Progress towards opening up the first oil reservoir by BP's offshore flagship the Petrojarl Foinaven has been halted by Greenpeace today in an action at sea.
The Foinaven site was targeted by two Greenpeace ships, the Rainbow C, which had been campaigning in the North Sea and the MV Greenpeace which has been taking direct action to prevent seismic testing in the Atlantic Frontier for the last six weeks. At 1630 hours, seven activists boarded the Steena Dee and locked onto the support legs and anchor chain carrying a banner reading 'No New Oil'. The Steena Dee is a drilling platform which was heading for Foinaven to install one of the final pieces of equipment necessary to commence production.
The Steena Dee is a large mobile platform and was on route from Norway to "drilling centre two" in the Foinaven site. It was due to hook up oil carrying pipes to the manifold, which had previously been pulled up and repaired following problems with the technology.
Greenpeace has been opposing oil exploration in the Atlantic Frontier as part of its climate protection campaign to get governments to accept a ceiling on the use of fossil fuels and to stop new oil exploration. The organisation argues that the world cannot afford to burn even a quarter of existing fuel reserves without causing irreparable climate change. To search for new oil in these circumstances, is madness. Scientists predict climate change will produce more frequent floods, droughts and more severe storms as global temperatures increase and sea levels rise.
Executive Director of Greenpeace Chris Rose said, "Already a year behind schedule and plagued with technical problems, Foinaven is a disaster. Rather than continue to pour millions into it, BP should put the Foinaven into mothballs and invest the money in its solar power arm instead."
Petrojarl Foinaven, a giant oil drilling tanker (known as an FPSO) is the first of the Atlantic Frontier drilling operations due to produce oil. It is seen by oil companies the world over as a pilot project. If it is successful the project will signal a huge increase in the number of FPSOs used to drill the previously untapped deep oceans of the world, including the Atlantic Frontier.
BP has long been concerned that Greenpeace would target the Foinaven field and in March of this year indicated that it would use criminal proceedings against Greenpeace and seek financial recompense of some stlg1.5 million a day for any halt in their production.
Responding to the threat Chris Rose said, "There is no production, the project is riddled with problems. BP is as hypocritical as the British Government, it talks fine words about climate change but keeps up its headlong dash to find even more oil, the very cause of the problem."
BP is one of 22 oil companies who joined forces to oppose Greenpeace in the High Court when the environmental organisation tried to get leave for a full Judicial Review of the Government's licensing of the Atlantic Frontier. The judge overruled the Government and oil companies objections and the leave hearing will take place in September.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Greenpeace Press Office on +44 (0)171-865 8255/6/7/8