Drilling in the North Sea — history and environmental concerns

Drilling in the North Sea — history and environmental concerns

Subject :Geography

Section: Places in news

Context:

• U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently backed plans for new fossil fuel drilling off Britain’s coast, worrying environment experts even as the world continues its stride towards irreversible climate change.

Details:

• The move will help Britain become more energy independent.
• The North Sea Transition Authority (NTSA), responsible for regulating oil, gas and carbon storage industries, is currently running its 33rd offshore oil and gas licensing round.
• The U.K. has set a goal to reach Net Zero Carbon Emission by 2050.

A short history of drilling in the U.K. North Sea:

• In 1964 the U.K. Parliament passed the Continental Shelf Act.
• The Act provides for exploration and exploitation of the continental shelf based on the 1958 Geneva convention.
  • It delineated the jurisdiction the U.K. had over oil and gas resources (excluding coal) under the seabed near its shores.
  • 1964: British Petroleum (BP) was awarded a license for exploration in the North Sea.
  • 1965: BP discovered the natural gas reserve in the North Sea, off the east Anglican coast.
  • Sea Gem, the BP-operated drilling rig, collapsed in December 1965.
  • 1970: BP made its first discovery of commercial oil in the large Forties Field east of Aberdeen, Scotland.
  • 1975: Hamilton, an American oil company, was the first to bring North Sea oil to the shore.
  • In the next 15 years, BP started more than 15 fields in the U.K. North Sea (and four in the Norwegian North Sea).
  • 1988 disaster at the Piper Alpha oil platform where more than 165 people were killed.
  • 1990s: The Foinaven and Schiehallion fields were discovered, opening up the West of Shetland area for exploration and exploitation.
• According to the U.K. government, production from the North Sea peaked in 1999 to 1,37,099 thousand tonnes of crude oil and natural gas liquids. By 2022, the total production declined to 38,037 thousand tonnes.
• The 1958 Geneva Conventionon the Continental Shelf was the first international legislation to establish the rights of countries over the continental shelves adjacent to their coastlines and paved the way for exploration in the North Sea. The treaty came into force in 1964.

Why is offshore drilling problematic?

• The offshore drilling puts “workers, waters, and wildlife” at risk.
• Threat to climate change
• Warms oceans and raises sea levels.
• A direct risk to marine biodiversity.
• An indirect risk to coral reefs and shellfishes from acidic waters.
• Carbon pollution due to acidification of oceans

Is the U.K. honouring its climate commitments?

• According to the 2023 Progress Report to the U.K. Parliament, the U.K. has not adequately prepared for climate change under the second National Adaptation Programme.
• In the U.K. National Adaptation Programmes are statutory programmes that the government must follow to help prepare the country for climate change, as required under the Climate Change Act.
• The second National Adaptation Programme covered the period of 2018 – 2023.
• According to Climate Action Tracker, U.K.’s climate action is not consistent with the Paris Agreement.

About the North Sea:

• Geographically, the North Sea lies between England and Scotland on its west, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France on its south, and Norway, Denmark, and Germany on its west.
• An epeiric sea (an inland sea either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean by a river, strait or “arm of the sea”) on the European continental shelf.
• It connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north.
• It hosts key north European shipping lanes and is a major fishery. The coast is a popular destination for recreation and tourism in bordering countries, and a rich source of energy resources, including wind and wave power.