EU Energy Chief to Temporarily Ban Deepwater Drilling

Added by Gary Dunn on October 8, 2010

Oil deepwater drilling is set to be banned temporarily due to the pending investigation on the cause of BP’s spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The drilling is set to be stopped by Europe’s energy chief Guenther Oettinger on October 13, 2010.

A proposal draft said that the main aim of the step is to avoid a similar disaster as that of BP’s oil spill that happened earlier this year. The draft also said that the Commission insisted on the suspension of the drilling until the Deepwater Horizon accident is made clear.

Oettinger’s proposal hasn’t been received well by many Scotland’s oil industries.

Ian Hudghton from the Scottish National Party said that jeopardizing oil companies with good record of safety based on BP’s accident is not a good idea. He also said that the proposal might seem as a strategy of the European Commission to rule over gas and oil resources.

Spokeswoman of the British government said that her government does not see the need to halt or ban drilling as the industry is at its peak and every activity undertaken is safe.

The proposal would need signing from the involved countries to take effect and thus there are bound to be controversies.