- Title: BELGIUM: EU plans tougher laws over deep sea oil drilling
- Date: 15th July 2010
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (JULY 14, 2010) (REUTERS) (AUDIO AS INCOMING) "STOP DEEP SEA DRILLING" SIGN WRITTEN IN GERMAN IN FRONT OF COMMISSION BUILDING PROTESTER HOLDING PHOTOGRAPH OF PELICAN DRENCHED IN OIL SPILL "STOP DEEP SEA DRILLING" SIGN IN ENGLISH WITH DEMONSTRATORS DRENCHED IN OIL LEAKY OIL DRUM DEMONSTRATOR COVERED IN OIL DEMONSTRATORS DEMONSTRATORS MOVING OIL DRUMS DEMONSTRATOR HOLDING SIGN OIL DRUMS
- Embargoed: 30th July 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Belgium
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: European Union,Energy
- Reuters ID: LVA7DHG7KOBLC8ZNH4PXE9WQMNDQ
- Story Text: The EU wants to make it tougher for oil and gas companies to drill offshore to avoid another BP oil spill disaster.
Environmentalists from Greenpeace demanded an end to deep sea oil drilling in Brussels while the EU was discussing tougher measures to impose on oil and gas companies to prevent another disaster of the proportions of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
They protested on Wednesday (July 14) in front of the EU Commission in Brussels where the environment and energy commissioners were meeting the CEOs of energy companies.
The EU said they bloc of 27 countries needed more rigourous and detailed prevention policies, as well as better management systems. It has also admitted it was weak in dealing with the consequences of accidents and that there were gaps in environmental rules that need to be filled.
Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said the executive would work on imposing strict conditions on offshore oil drilling companies and re-inforce liability rules.
This would mean extending the scope of the 'polluter pays' principle to all marine water.
"On the response and liability side the response is covered by the liability directive. Unfortunately because it only covers coastal zones, its scope does not appear sufficiently wide. One possibility here again would be to extend it to all marine waters," he said.
Potocnik would also like to force companies to prove they can clean up any environmental damage they cause before getting a licence to drill. It would be mandatory then for oil rig operators to use financial security instruments.
"In case of a major disaster we have to ask ourselves what if the disaster is the responsibility of a smaller company, what if the company can't pay, what if the company is not covered by financial security instruments to pay for environmental damage. The commission has already made an attempt in the past to make financial security instruments mandatory. this was at that time rejected by EU legislators. Probably maybe they are different and appetite now that would conclude in a different way" Potocnik said.
The bloc's energy chief, Guenther Oettinger, said national governments should follow in Norway's footsteps and issue a moratorium on all new deepwater drilling until the causes of the Deepwater Horizon spill were known.
Before the European Parliament, Oettinger called for a "de facto moratorium" on new drilling permits, saying responsible governments would put a halt to new projects until causes of the blast off the Louisiana coast could be determined. He also called for a review of current EU legislation governing oil drilling.
Oettinger's call last week for a de facto moratorium on new drilling permits until they determine the cause of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was met with anger by the oil and gas companies who described his remarks as wholly unjustifiable, knee-jerk reaction They continued to argue on Wednesday that current regulatory regimes are strict enough to ensure safety.
Greenpeace representatives say the EU should go further than a drilling moratorium. They want a ban on imports of oil from deep-sea wells. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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