Greenpeace occupies rig in bid to halt Arctic oil drilling

AN Edinburgh oil company which saw one of its oil rigs occupied by Greenpeace protesters has been criticised for pursuing finds in the Arctic.

Greenpeace activists climbed aboard the Leiv Eirikson rig, owned by Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy, in a bid to prevent it from leaving port in Istanbul for Greenland to begin deep-water drilling in the Arctic.

They said they planned to occupy the rig for days, and unfurled a banner that read: "Stop Arctic destruction" and "Go Beyond Oil, Choose Clean Energy".

Dr Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland said: "The sensitive Arctic environment is the last place we should be drilling for oil, the risks just aren't worth it. That a Scottish company is at the forefront of exploration in the Arctic is deeply disturbing."