North Uist drill consent extremely alarming

Responding to news that the UK Government has given BP consent to drill the deepwater North Uist well, northwest of the Shetland Islands, Stan Blackley, Chief Executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said:

“The move to exploit increasingly hard to reach oil reserves in environmentally fragile environments is extremely alarming.

“Oil is a finite resource and one that has caused exponential damage both directly through oil spills, and indirectly due to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with burning oil.

“As a matter of environmental safety, respect for future generations, and the need to conserve the planet, we should be seeking to end our addiction to oil and instead be investing in clean energy solutions.

“The expertise learned through years of offshore oil exploitation should be being directed to offshore renewables, rather than dangerous deep water drilling that risks lives and our environment.”

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact: Per Fischer, Press Office, Friends of the Earth Scotland
 t: 0131 243 2719

Notes to Editors

1. NORTH UIST WELL GIVEN CONSENT – DECC press release
www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn12_027/pn12_027.aspx

2. Friends of the Earth Scotland is * Scotland’s leading environmental campaigning organisation * An independent Scottish charity with a network of thousands of supporters and active local groups across Scotland * Part of the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, uniting over 2 million supporters, 77 national member groups, and some 5,000 local activist groups – covering every continent.
www.foe-scotland.org.uk