Brussels, 19/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission wants to impose the highest safety standards possible for oil drilling at sea. In the middle of July, Günther Oettinger will present proposals for compelling companies to pay all damages caused by their activities.
The services of Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger continue with their work. This began after the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico caused by an explosion on 20 April 2010 at the Deepwater Horizon offshore oilrig, owned by the British oil company, BP. Their work aims to strengthen all Community legislation on oilrigs and introduce the strictest standards in the world. Last year, Oettinger came under a lot of pressure, particularly from the United Kingdom and did not manage to impose a moratorium on deepwater drilling (EUROPE 10235). He wants oil companies to be responsible for paying the costs caused by ecological disasters provoked by oilrig accidents. A source close to the case and quoted by AFP, said that the commissioner for energy was seeking to strengthen legislation that would compel companies to pay for the ecological damages caused by drilling up to 12 miles offshore and that this should be extended to a 200 mile zone. Oettinger also wants to ensure that mobile rigs respect equipment safety standards imposed on fixed rigs, in an effort to prevent fires and explosions. The commissioner is also expected to propose the setting up of a database for identifying any incidents and taking action to deal with them. Oettinger is also keen that it is the companies that guarantee a high level of safety, as well as financial guarantees for tackling the ramifications of an accident, before these companies are able to set up another oil rig.
More than a thousand oil rigs are operating in European waters, including 486 in the United Kingdom, 181 in the Netherlands, 123 in Italy, 61 in Denmark, seven in Romania, four in Spain, three in Poland, two in and Germany, Ireland and Greece and one in Bulgaria. Cyprus and Malta intend to start up oil rigs in the near future. There is also the question of deep water drilling, such as that planned by the British BP company in the Gulf of Syrte (Libya), 1700 m below sea level. (E.H./transl.fl)