BP to drill new deepwater well but critics fear another disastrous spill

OIL giant BP has been given the go-ahead to drill a new deep-water oil well, north-west of Shetland.

The North Uist well, around 80 miles from the Shetlands, will see BP drilling in water more than three-quarters of a mile deep.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) said officials had scrutinised the application to drill, including making sure the findings of various reports into the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico had been taken into account.

Up to five million barrels of crude oil leaked into the Gulf after BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil well exploded in April 2010, killing 11 workers and polluting swathes of America’s southern coastline.

Energy minister Charles Hendry said: “Oil and gas plays an important role in our economy and makes a significant contribution to our energy security, but exploration should not come at a cost to the environment.

“That is why before giving consent, my department has very carefully scrutinised BP’s plans and their emergency response measures to ensure their operations are conducted to the highest possible standards.”

But environmentalists reacted angrily to the news of new oil extraction west of Shetland, which they say is bad for the climate and risks an oil spill that would be difficult to clean up and would hit fishing, tourism and wildlife.

News that consent had been granted for the North Uist well comes just a day after Chancellor George Osborne announced tax breaks of £3 billion for deep-water drilling west of Shetland.

WWF Scotland director Dr Richard Dixon said: “First the Chancellor doles out billions of tax breaks to the oil and gas industry in the Budget.

“Next, the Energy Minister consents to new deepwater drilling. Together they help take the UK further and further away from becoming a zero-carbon country.

“New deepwater drilling is just not worth the risk because we should be phasing out our use of oil instead of chasing ever more difficult sources.”

Charlie Kronick, senior oil campaigner at Greenpeace, said: “This government is taking a huge risk to both Scotland’s fragile natural environment, and its economy, in granting a licence to BP, one of the most accident-prone oil companies in the world. Only three weeks ago, BP finally settled claims for billions of dollars for their part in the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

“Instead of trying to suck out the last drops of oil in one of the most ecologically fragile environments in the UK, this government should be using the £3bn tax bung to invest in the clean alternatives.”

But BP said ensuring its activities were safely and responsibly managed was the company’s “absolute priority” and it had safely produced more than 800 million barrels of oil from West of Shetland since the early 1970s.

In a statement, the company said: “BP has applied lessons learnt from the Deepwater Horizon accident to its drilling organisation and capabilities worldwide, and is applying them fully to the planning and drilling of the North Uist well.”