Greenpeace boarded Norwegian rig

West Hercules. Seadrill GreenpeaceWest Hercules. Photo Seadrill

Greenpeace boarded Norwegian drilling rig

Activists from Greenpeace Norway have boarded the drilling rig West Hercules in Skipavika outside Bergen. The rig is scheduled for operations on behalf of Statoil in the Barents Sea this summer.

 

The rig was to leave Skipavika on Thursday, but the departure is now delayed due to  that two activists have boarded the rig, writes Teknisk Ukeblad.

– We use the tools we have available to us in order to get Statoil and the Norwegian authorities to take the climate seriously, says leader of Greenpeace Norway, Truls Gulowsen. The main demand from the actionists is that Statoil should stop driling for oil in the Arctic.

the rig which is commissioned by Statoil to drill two exploration wells in the Barents Sea this summer is owned by multi billionaire John Fredriksen’s Seadrill. They also have options for drilling five additional exploratory wells. The rig is operated by Seadrill subsidiary North Atlantic Norway Ltd.

– The rig is under contract to us from this summer onwards, and the action will therefore not affect us at all, says Press Officer in Statoil, Morten Eek to NTB.

He emphasizes that this is a rig that Statoil has good prior knowledge of.

– Statoil has drilled exploration wells in the Barents Sea since 1980, in excess of 130 in total, including five last year. This has been done without any notable incidents happening whatsoever.

– We have valid exploration licenses in the area, and these also include obligations to do so, he says.

The two Greenpeace activists boarded just before 8:00 am on Thursday, and are still reported as being on board at present. The activists transmit directly from the rig to their Facebook pages. Greenpeace reports that all activity is on the rig has been halted.

In addition to the two on board there are also several activists present in kayaks in the immediate vicinity of the rig. The two on board supposedly has brought along enough food and drink to be able to occupy the rig for several days.

The Hordaland Police District is informed of the matter, but no patrols has as of yet been sent to Skipavika according to NRK.

– We do not have personnel on site at present, but that will be assessed continuously, police officer, Kurt Inge Hordvik, tells NRK.

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today