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Under drilling regulations, oil companies must report accidental and deliberate releases of so-called ‘produced water’, a by-product that contains oil and other toxic chemicals and can be released into the sea under licence.
However, if the company breaches the conditions of that licence, for example by having a higher than permitted concentration of oil in the spill, it does not have to record this as an oil spill.
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Oceana’s Sea Slick report found that if license breaches were included with oil spills, the total amount of oil spilled into UK waters over the past 10 years would increase by 43%, with the volume more than doubling between 2021 and 2024.
It further found that there was a 36% increase in the average concentration of oil in produced water released into UK waters between 2016 and 2020, which accounted for a 20% increase in the amount of oil released despite a decrease in overall volume the oil produced. water
The report estimates that at least 1,331 tonnes of oil were accidentally spilled into the ocean from UK oil and gas operations between January 2011 and May 2024. A further 570 tonnes are estimated to have been released in concentrations higher than the permits granted, taking the total to 1901 tonnes – enough to fill the fuel tanks of 44,000 average sized cars.
The figures are likely to be grossly underestimated, as nearly a third of reported license breaches did not include the volume of oil spilled.
The UK’s network of Marine Protected Areas has suffered 248 breaches of license conditions in the past three and a half years, with just under half (49%) of these breaches failing to disclose the amount of oil spilled.
According to Oceana, only five companies released 84% of the oil that was leaked in violation of the permit.
Over the past five years there have only been two convictions or fines, with BP being fined £7,000 for breaching the Offshore Petroleum Activities Act in 2020 for a spill that occurred in 2016.
Individual fines are capped at £50,000. BP generated operating revenue of $210.13bn (£156.73bn) in 2023.
Since 2014, less than 2% of all oil discharge permit applications have been refused. Of the license breaches reported between January 2011 and May 2024, less than 1% were investigated.
A Freedom of Information Act request revealed that only 15% of oil and gas infrastructure was inspected in 2023, down from 25% in 2022.
Hugo Tagholm, Executive Director of Oceana UK, said: “Our investigation reveals a quagmire of opaque and incomplete reporting that hides the true scale of toxic oil pollution that is wreaking havoc on the UK’s seas and marine wildlife. I can’t know how a dolphin feels trying to hunt underwater with lung lesions, or a seabird drowning because its oily feathers mean it can’t fly. But I know it’s not good enough.
“Until now the oil industry has been allowed to do its own homework on this with little to no oversight. The government can and must now take a new course, holding the industry accountable and ensuring that our seas are get the protection they deserve.”
Commenting on the findings of the Oceana report, Dr Rosie Williams, Postdoctoral Researcher at ZSL Institute of Zoology, UK, said: “A growing body of research now recognizes that the constant release of oil and other toxins into marine environments is a huge threat to the sea life.
“Substances such as PAHs and heavy metals can accumulate in animals and act as carcinogens and negatively affect the immune and reproductive systems. This bioaccumulation of chemicals is also a major concern from a human health point of view, as they enter n our own food system. We need the government to do more to hold oil companies to account.
“The under-reporting by the industry of what toxins are being released into our ocean is an issue that must be tackled urgently.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Energy Safety and Zero Net said: “We have a comprehensive framework of environmental protection measures for offshore oil and gas activities.
“OPRED investigates proportionately all oil spills, and non-compliance discharges, which can take enforcement action against operators if necessary, including the use of fines or referral for criminal prosecution. We review and update guidance as necessary.”
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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