(Corrects spelling in headline)
By Ron Bousso
LONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Greenpeace activists boarded two
Royal Dutch Shell oil platforms in the British North Sea on
Monday in protest against plans to leave parts of the giant
structures in place after production shuts down.
Pictures provided by Greenpeace show two people in yellow
hats scaling one of giant two large, rusty structures and
unfurling a banner reading "Clean up your mess, Shell!"
Shell confirmed that protesters boarded the Brent Alpha
platform and the Brent Bravo concrete legs.
Shell is in the process of dismantling the 40-year-old Brent
field east of the Shetland islands, in what is known as
decommissioning, as its oil and gas reserves dwindle after
producing more than 500,000 barrels a day at their peak in the
1980s.
The field, a 50-50 joint venture with Exxon Mobil,
includes four platforms, a myriad of subsea platforms and over
150 wells.
Shell plans to remove all the platforms and is currently
seeking approval from the British government to leave in place
their bases - huge concrete and steel legs that each weigh
dozens of tonnes.
"The UK government cannot claim to be a global oceans
champion while allowing Shell to dump thousands of tonnes of oil
waste in the North Sea," Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK's chief
scientist, said in a statement.
"If ministers allow Shell to bend the rules, this will set a
dangerous precedent for the decommissioning of hundreds of
ageing North Sea platforms in the coming years."
Shell says it has held extensive consultations and conducted
dozens of studies over its plans in recent years and has
concluded that leaving the legs in place was the safest
environmental solution.
The plans will be discussed at a meeting on Friday of the
OSPAR Commission, which groups 15 governments in protecting the
marine environment of the north-east Atlantic.
Both the Dutch and German governments have voiced concerns
over Shell's plans.
The approval however lies in the hands of Britain's
department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
"Our proposals were submitted only when we were convinced
they were the best option: safe, environmentally sound,
technically achievable, and socially responsible," Shell said in
a statement.
Earlier this year, Greenpeace activists onboard a ship
blocked the path of BP drilling rig in the North Sea for
weeks.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso)
