One of Shell's oil platform in the North Sea. (Photo: Fred Dott/Greenpeace)

Shell's oil spill in the North Sea: devastating effect on wildlife

Environmentalists have warned that the Shell oil spill in the North Sea – the vastest in more than 10 years – could devastate wildlife. The 19-mi by 2.5-mi slick caused by a leak from a Shell platform, which the company did not reveal for three days, has been described by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as “substantial.”

Shell says it delayed releasing information about the leak until it had established the source and extent of the problem. By the time the company provided information to the public, the oil sheen had spread over an area greater than 21 sqkm.

"We released the information when we felt sure as to the data provided," said Glenn Cayley, technical director of Shell's exploration and production activities in Europe, BBC News reports.

Conservation groups were irate at the news.

Some groups, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), can help tackle related environmental impacts. "We want to and need to be informed at absolutely the earliest opportunity because we have a considerable degree of expertise on these sorts of things," said James Reynolds from RSPB Scotland.

Meanwhile, seabirds and marine life are facing dismal conditions.

“Oil of any amount can have a devastating impact on marine life,” said Stuart Housden, director of RSPB Scotland, Daily Mirror reports.

Other groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, have also rebuked Shell for covering up the incident.

Shell eventually divulged that an estimated 216 tonnes , or 1,300 barrels, had escaped into the North Sea. The flowline to the Gannet Alpha platform, which reportedly produced about 13,500 barrels of oil per day between January and April, is now leaking about five barrels a day, but high winds and turbulent waters have helped keep the size of the slick down, explained Cayley.

The company has since apologised for delaying the release of information and said it was not a deliberate attempt to obscure the spill.

RSPB has urged a transparent inquiry into the accident and Shell's operations in the North Sea.

A DECC spokesperson said the government will initiate an investigation. “The spill is substantial and it is disappointing it has happened. It is not anticipated that oil will reach the shore and it is expected that it will be dispersed naturally,” he commented.

DECC, the Health and Safety Executive, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and Marine Scotland are monitoring the spill. Greenpeace is arguing that this latest accident should keep regulators from allowing Shell to drill in the Arctic -- one of the most ecologically sensitive and logistically difficult habitats in the world.

“If ‘something has gone wrong’ in the North Sea, which the UK government claims has the best regulatory regime in the world, what is to prevent ‘something’ from going similarly wrong in the Alaskan Arctic? And when that happens, how on Earth does Shell plan to clean it up?” Greenpeace wondered. 

By Natalia Real
editorial@seafood.media
www.seafood.media

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