Greenpeace activists board North Sea oil rig in protest against well drilling
Written by News on 10/06/2019
Greenpeace activists are protesting aboard an oil rig off the coast of Scotland in a bid to prevent it from reaching its drilling destination.
The protesters say they boarded the 27,000-tonne rig as it was being towed out to sea from Cromarty Firth on Sunday evening, en route to the Vorlich oil field in the North Sea.
They are calling for BP – which is believed control the rig – to scrap operations to drill for oil wells, and say they could stay on the rig “for days”.
Greenpeace activist Jo, who is aboard, said the government “must seriously” reform the Oil and Gas Authority, and “invest heavily” to help oil-reliant communities in Scotland switch to more environmentally friendly industries.
The group is also calling for BP to end its exploration for oil, and to direct its investments toward renewable energy.
Last month, activists making the same demands blocked the entrance to the BP headquarters in London.
In Sunday’s statement, Jo said BP had shown it was “committed to business as usual”, which included “fuelling a climate emergency that threatens millions of lives and the future of the living world”.
“We can’t let that happen – that’s why we’re here today,” she added.
“The perverse idea we must maximise our oil and gas reserves cannot continue.”
Police Scotland has said that while it is aware of the ongoing incident, it was under the control of the Cromarty Firth Port Authority.
The Cromarty Firth Port Authority has not yet made public comment.
(c) Sky News 2019: Greenpeace activists board North Sea oil rig in protest against well drilling
