Reports in the Guardian newspaper tonight suggest that Edinburgh based Cairn Energy is on the verge of announcing the first discovery of oil in Arctic waters off the coast of Greenland. The Greenpeace protest ship Esperanza this morning arrived at the scene of the alleged find to the west of Disko Island in Baffin Bay.
Speaking from the Esperanza, which is currently positioned within sight of the two rigs Cairn is operating in the area where the find was apparently made, Greenpeace campaigner Leila Deen said:
"If the reports are accurate, this is grave news. An oil strike off the coast of Greenland would spark an Arctic oil rush, threatening this fragile environment and our chances of beating climate change. We have to go beyond oil by investing in clean technologies and deploying them as soon as possible.
"By drilling for oil in ever more dangerous, difficult to reach places the oil companies are taking us in the wrong direction. If a spill happened here this pristine area would face an environmental catastrophe. The BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico showed what can happen when they drill in deep and remote places."
The area to west of Disko Island, where the find was allegedly made, is known as 'Iceberg Alley' due to the plentiful icebergs and tough conditions. This has deterred oil companies from attempting exploration there in recent years, but the world's oil giants are watching the Cairn project with great interest.
If the Edinburgh-based company has struck oil analysts expect a new Arctic oil rush, with Exxon, Chevron and other energy giants already buying up licenses to drill in the area and making preparations to move in.
The wells being drilled by Cairn are at a depth of 300-500 metres, while the moratorium introduced by President Barak Obama after the Deepwater Horizon disaster applies to wells deeper than 152 metres. Cairn has refused to publish a comprehensive plan for how it would deal with a spill from the platform, and has just 14 vessels capable of reacting to a spill (BP's response in the Gulf of Mexico required more than 6,500 vessels).
A blowout in a scenario where a relief well cannot be completed in the same drilling season could lead to oil gushing until at least next spring, with spilt oil becoming trapped under sheets of thick ice (1).
ENDS
For more information, interviews and pictures contact either Greenpeace in the UK on 0207 865 8255/ 07500 866860
Or for live on board interviews call Ben Stewart on the Greenpeace ship Esperanza at any time on +8816 7770 1411 / 2 / 3 or +8816 4142 4412
FOOTNOTES
(1) A. Mayeda 2010. Oil-spill relief well off Canada's
Arctic coast would take three years: regulators. Postmedia News
http://www.canada.com/news/spill+relief+well+Canada+Arctic+coast+would+take+three+years+regulators/3347296/story.html
