Oil's well that ends (the North Uist) well

Well, the third red bus came along as predicted, and this one is running on oil.

The Independent has seen internal Government documents that show that BP is willing to risk the world’s biggest pollution disaster – double the size of the Gulf of Mexico spill - if Energy Secretary Chris Huhne grants a licence to drill its ‘North Uist’ exploratory well in wildlife-rich waters off the Shetland Islands.

The Shetlands are home to important breeding and feeding ground for fish, sea mammals, birds and other life. 48 species of seabird are found in these waters and 21 seabird species breed in Shetland – including important populations of puffins, kittiwakes, arctic tern and guillemots, the tiny storm petrel which is smaller than a starling, and the gannet with its wingspan of almost 6 feet. During the summer months Shetland plays host to over a million breeding seabirds - more than a tenth of the British total.

And, of course, we have five wonderful reserves in the Shetlands.

All of this would be put at severe risk by allowing BP to drill there. Many seabird species there are already facing severe declines in this area due to climate induced impacts on the food chain.

Apparently BP publicly consulted on this proposal, but the RSPB was not approached, and the consultation period closed with no responses from members of the public. Suggests to me that the consultation was not particularly extensive – almost as though BP were hoping no one would notice it.

As a result, the RSPB has – along with WWF, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth - sent a letter to the Energy Secretary today strongly urging him to refuse consent for this proposed well.

The RSPB works with developers all the time, including many who are building energy infrastructure. Good development, which avoids harm to wildlife, comes about through care and proper stakeholder engagement. This has been entirely absent in this instance, and we believe that BP has simply kept to the legal minimum of consultation, which beggars belief given the significant risk to protected habitats and wildlife in Shetland’s waters.