An oil spill off Shetland could 'equal Gulf of Mexico disaster'

AN OIL spill off the coast of Shetland could equal that of the Gulf of Mexico disaster and spread as far as the Norfolk coast, an environmental report has claimed.

An investigation carried out by American oil drilling company Hess, which has lodged an application to drill a deep water well to the west of the island, revealed that a spill could last as long as ten weeks.

The oil industry played down the likelihood that an accident would ever occur, but environmental campaigners claimed such a spill could devastate wildlife in the area and impact tourism for years.

Without intervention, Cambo 4 would flow for a period of two-and-a-half months, releasing an estimated 4.3 million barrels of crude oil, Hess admitted in the assessment, published as part of the company's drilling application.

"This report once again highlights the dangers to the marine environment of drilling for oil in yet even deeper water," said Word Wildlife Fund Scotland director Dr Richard Dixon. "Oil companies simply have no idea how they would deal with a major deep water oil spill." A report published last month by the UK government's energy and climate change committee echoed the Hess report, adding that it had "serious doubts" about the ability of oil spill response equipment to function in waters off the west coast of Shetland.

Hess, whose 120-day drilling operation is planned for May, said the risk of a large-scale spill was "very low".

It added that its computer modelling system was unable to assess the consequences of a spill lasting more than ten days. The BP disaster lasted for 86 days.

Dr Dixon added: "Perhaps the most remarkable part of this study is that the company admit that the ten-day spill they have considered is far from the worst case. Given that the Gulf spill lasted 86 days, the authorities should rule this assessment as incompetent.

"A major accident could release many hundreds of times the oil spilt in the 1983 Braer disaster. Wildlife, fishing and tourism in Shetland and beyond could be devastated for many years."

The region is home to more than 20 species of dolphin and whale and up to 50 species of seabird, including fulmars, razorbills and kittiwakes.

In the report, New York-based Hess claimed that fish and sea mammals would remain "relatively unaffected" by any pollution because evidence suggests they are able to detect and avoid oil-contaminated waters.

Greenpeace executive director John Sauven added: "This little-known company admits in its own spill response plan that a serious blow-out would see half of British beaches, and many in Europe, covered in oil. The Government is ignoring the clear lessons from the Deepwater Horizon disaster."

Industry body Oil and Gas UK said the report's mapping of the potential of a catastrophe was an "extreme" example. Hess claimed it would take two days and 15 hours for the spill to hit the shores of Shetland, while it would take eight days and one hour to travel to the coast of Norway.

"From the map provided with the report, we have worked out that the chance of any spill reaching as far as the Norfolk coast is half a per cent," said a spokeswoman.

"There are procedures in place in the UK which are designed to stop an oil spill from happening. The UK's safety regime is deemed to be very robust by other people around the world."

A government decision on the proposal for Cambo 4 is expected in the coming months.