Greenpeace have warned Statoil, who plan to drill further north than ever before, that they can expect visits by international ships during the summer.
‘Riggen Songa Enabler’ will drill in Korpfjell, an area closer to Svalbard than Finnmark, and further north than any other drilling operation on the Norwegian continental shelf. According to NRK news, the environmental organization, Greenpeace, have reacted strongly to Statoil’s planned operations.
‘It’s an extreme oil well in every way. Its proximity to land means that everything that is happening out there will be of extremely high risk, both for those who work there, and for the environment. This is because it will take a long time to mobilise the necessary resources if something goes wrong,’ said Truls Gulowsen, the head of Greenpeace Norway.
Korpfjell is a location situated 400 kilometres north of the coast of Finnmark, in a part of the Barents Sea which has previously been closed to oil drilling.
Greenpeace has previously taken action against oil drilling on the Norwegian and Russian shelf in the north. Gulowsen said that the Greenpeace organisations in a number of countries are now closely following developments.
‘We expect that one of Greenpeace’s international ships will be paying a visit during the summer. The borderline agreement with Russia has led to the opening of the Barents Sea, southeast, which is the first, new, Norwegian oil province opening for drilling for over 20 years.
Statoil will be the first company to drill in an area the size of Finnmark municipality.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today