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UK Lawmakers Question Deep Water Drilling Safety
Loading ...U.K. lawmakers Thursday raised serious doubts about whether the oil industry is prepared to tackle a similar to the Deepwater Horizon blowout should it occur in the North Sea, but they stopped short of recommending a moratorium on drilling similar to that imposed in the U.S.
Instead, the U.K. Parliament’s Energy and Climate Change Committee called on the government and regulators to compel companies to improve their spill response plans, install extra failsafe equipment on rigs, and increase financial provisions for spill costs.
Major changes to drilling regulations could have a significant impact on the U.K. because its main deep water area, west of the Shetland Islands, is thought to be home to the bulk of the country’s undeveloped oil and gas resources. For this reason, “a moratorium on deep water drilling off the west coast of Shetland would undermine the U.K.’s energy security and isn’t necessary,” said Tim Yeo, the Conservative member of Parliament who is chair of the committee.
Underlining the importance of the region, France’s Total SA (TOT) Thursday announced a new gas discovery west of Shetland, called Edradour, that will be developed in conjunction with its Laggan and Tormore fields.
Continue Reading at WSJ.com.
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