Major Oil Rush after Bournemouth Beach Test Drilling

1 March 2019

Bournemouth now faces a headlong rush for full-scale long-term new oil drilling, just off our award-winning beach. The test oil rig in Poole Bay discovered 15 million barrels of extractable oil. which if burned will lead to an estimated extra 1.7 million tonnes of carbon emissions.“Dorset could become the new Dallas”, says Bournemouth Echo

Bournemouth now faces a headlong rush for full-scale long-term new oil drilling, just off our award-winning beach. The test oil rig in Poole Bay discovered 15 million barrels of extractable oil. which if burned will lead to an estimated extra 1.7 million tonnes of carbon emissions.

Applications are expected for a full licence for horizontal drilling from the shore. One of the oil corporations involved has publicly declared its glee at the projected fat profits for its shareholders from the continuing local ecocidal destruction.

The full phase of drilling will require a separate Government licence, so the community campaign to stop new oil drilling in Dorset now intensifies.

The test oil rig alone was permitted to dump up to 6,700 tonnes of drilling chemicals in Poole Bay.

dorset/news-graphics/porpoise1.jpg.gallery.jpgWhile the test oil rig was in position, two porpoises, two dolphins and a seal were found dead on beaches around Dorset and the Isle of Wight. The spike in the number of stranded washed-up bodies was highly unusual.

Serious concerns from charity wildlife experts about the possibility of a link between the spate of beachings and the presence of the oil rig were reported in The Times and the Bournemouth Echo. Local wildlife groups strongly opposed the oil rig from the start, partly because drilling noise can be disorienting for animals which rely on sonar to navigate.

Say NO - take action now!

Sign and share the petition to ban all new oil drilling: https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/page/s/no-new-oil
Donate to the crowdfunder for legal action: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/seahorse-trust/
Stay updated, follow SOS Save Our Shores and Bournemouth Green Party on Facebook
[embedded links: https://www.facebook.com/SOSBournemouth/ https://www.facebook.com/bournemouthgreenparty/]

Photo credits:

1 Mick Gisbourne.jpg

2 Dorset/news-graphics/porpoise1.jpg.gallery.jpg

Sources:

Bournemouth Echo, 1 Mar 2019, "Poole Bay oil rig could yield 15 million barrels of oil" https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/17465540.poole-bay-oil-rig-could-yield-15-million-barrels-of-oil/
Bournemouth Echo, 31 Jan 2019, "Oil rig has permit to dump 6.7k tonnes of chemicals in Poole Bay" https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/17399387.oil-rig-has-permit-to-dump-67k-tonnes-of-chemicals-in-poole-bay/
The Times, 26 Feb 2019, "Poole Bay oil drilling blamed for dead dolphins" https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/poole-bay-oil-drilling-blamed-for-dead-dolphins-r9vbr32bz
Bournemouth Echo, 26 Feb 2019, "Dead dolphin, porpoise and seal found washed up on beaches this month" https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/17456532.dead-dolphin-porpoise-and-seal-found-washed-up-on-beaches-this-month/






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