Oil Extraction (St. Kilda) (Hansard, 2 March 1999)

§ Mr. Battle

I have received correspondence from environmental groups, members of the public and hon. Members expressing concern about the impact of petroleum extraction on St. Kilda, and about the potential contribution to climate change of continuing exploitation of fossil fuels.

There is no evidence that either the offer of petroleum licences in the Atlantic or activity under such licences has compromised the environmental sensitivity of the area, jeopardised the status of any World Heritage Sites or harmed any particular species or habitat.

Prior to offering acreage west of the Hebrides in the 17th Seaward Licensing Round, the Department took the advice of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), the Government's statutory adviser on conservation matters, about the potential environmental impact of activities under licences. The JNCC advised—and my Department accepted—that because of the environmental importance of the protected area around 694W St. Kilda, no acreage within 25 miles of the island should be offered for licensing. In actual fact, the nearest licence awarded is 45 miles away.

As a further safeguard, conditions were attached to these licences at the request of JNCC and the Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department (SOAEFD) which prohibit seismic acquisition and drilling during specified sensitive seasons in order to minimise any potential disruption to local ecosystems.

The advice from the JNCC, and the Department's subsequent decision-making process about the offer of blocks for petroleum licensing, takes full account of the requirements of the EU Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). Such advice from the JNCC and other consultees has led to some blocks being excluded from licence offers in particular licensing rounds, despite clear interest from oil and gas companies which wished to see them made available.

All exploration wells are subject to the Petroleum Pipe-lines (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1998, which implement the European Union Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (85/337/EEC) across the whole of the UK Continental Shelf. Under these Regulations, the Secretary of State must take account of the likely environmental impact of the well before he may decide whether or not to consent to its drilling. Both the JNCC and SOAEFD are consulted about the likely effects of wells in this area and may recommend that a full environmental statement is required before a consent decision can be made. Such statements must be made available to the public for their comments and the Secretary of State must then take into consideration any comments he has received when making his decision about consent for the project.

Under the Regulations, the same process must be applied to any application for consent to a further well to appraise the commercial potential of an oil or gas discovery, and again to any subsequent proposal to develop such a find for production. The production of an environmental statement is mandatory for most development projects. No application has yet been received for consent to commercial extraction of oil or gas west of the Hebrides.

Offshore activity, including all exploration wells, is also subject to the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response Convention) Regulations 1998. These require an oil spill contingency plan to be submitted to this Department for approval before drilling activities may commence. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) are consulted in relation to such plans. Each contingency plan is project-specific and will take account of relevant environmental sensitivities.

The UK offshore oil and gas industry has a good environmental record. Areas west of Scotland were first licensed for petroleum exploration and production in 1972. The first commercial developments in the area are the Foinaven and Schiehallion oil fields, which lie west of Shetland, more than 200 miles northeast of St. Kilda. Regrettably, there have been some small oil spills around these facilities since production started, but all dispersed naturally with no evidence of damage to the environment. 695W However, the companies involved have been asked to reassess their operational procedures to ensure that the risk of even small oil spills can be reduced still further.

The Government are committed to playing its part in tackling the threat of global warming and agrees that we need to move away from dependence on fossil fuels. The Government intend to develop a strategic UK climate change programme for publication later this year which will set out proposals for policies and measures to achieve international targets and its domestic policy aims, including increased support for renewables. The aim of the programme will be to develop an equitable, balanced strategy, covering all sectors of the economy and engaging all parts of the community. It will be finalised after public consultation and the Government will take forward its implementation, probably in 2000 and subsequent years.