Second North Sea oil leak discovered

Responding to news that a second oil leak has been discovered from an offshore platform in the North Sea, Per Fischer, Communications Officer at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said:

“It beggars belief that we are still being drip-fed information and that Shell’s initially ‘insignificant’ leak is still causing problems.

“It is ironic that despite the righteous anger and questions that Friends of the Earth Scotland and others are asking of Shell, the information they have made available is actually vastly better than what was offered to the people of Nigeria, where Shell for a long time denied any responsibility for endless oil spills.

“Just a few weeks ago Shell finally admitted liability for two massive spills in Bodo and Ogoniland, which it is estimated will take 20 years to clean up.

“For decades, oil companies have acted with impunity when it comes to the environment. At a time when we could be using the skills learnt through oil exploitation to advance our renewable energy resources, we should be placing much higher standards of operation on companies like Shell.”

ENDS

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

Notes to Editors

Shell detects second leak under North Sea
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-14540288

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