EU offshore drilling regulator rejected
An EFA press release by Ian Hudghton MEP
Scottish National Party MEP Ian Hudghton has welcomed today's vote by the European Parliament's Energy Committee to reject proposals for a European regulator for offshore oil and gas drilling.
MEPs had been considering a set of European Commission proposals dealing with safety in offshore oil and gas drilling which had been prompted by last year's disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The draft legislation is due to be published in the autumn.
Responding to today's developments, Mr Hudghton said:
"If the European Commission wants to learn about first class safety and environmental standards in offshore drilling then they need look no further than Scotland's oil and gas industries. We have world class drilling facilities and a very highly skilled, safety focussed, workforce.
"It would be entirely wrong for the European Commission to use the veil of environmental and safety concerns to try and gain powers over oil and gas resources.
"Of course there are lessons to be learned from the terrible tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico, and no-one is more committed to seeing those lessons learned than the oil industry itself. Authorities in the EU member states will continue to ensure safety standards remain high. Imposing some EU super-regulator would only have diverted scarce resources and the European Parliament's Energy Committee recognised that.
"I continue to take the view that it is for Scotland's democratically elected institutions, working alongside our European neighbours, to shape how best to develop our oil and gas exploration."
