EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger is expected to call tomorrow for a temporary ban on new deepwater drilling until a probe is completed into the causes of BP's Macondo oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
But the UK government insists that deepwater exploration is vital for the country's energy security.
"We do not see a case for a moratorium on deep drilling. We are learning from the Macondo incident, but we do have a demanding regulatory regime," a spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said, adding no EU body had the power to declare a moratorium on drilling.Britain's offshore operating rules were tightened after the Piper Alpha platform exploded in the North Sea in 1988, killing 167 people in what remains the world's worst offshore accident for human casualties.
UK safety regulator the HSE may tighten them again if investigations into the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster, which sparked the worst offshore oil spill in history, show holes in British rules.
In the meantime, the government is vetting all new drilling operations on a case-by-case basis and has stepped up inspections of mobile drilling rigs after the Gulf of Mexico spill in April.
Transition to a low-carbon economy
With Britain's oil and gas production expected to fall more than 25% by 2015, intensifying the UK's dependence on imported fuels, the government wants to encourage drilling in harder to reach areas of the UK continental shelf.
"The UK government is determined to drive forward our move to a low-carbon economy and develop the UK's renewable energy sources but this cannot happen overnight," the DECC spokesman said.
"Deepwater oil and gas production is necessary during the UK's transition to a low-carbon economy," he said.
MEPs oppose a moratorium
Meanwhile, last week the European Parliament has adopted a resolution to tighten up rules governing offshore oil and gas exploration and compensation, but stopped short of issuing for a moratorium on new deepwater drilling. The non-legislative resolution was adopted with 601 votes in favour, 23 against and 13 abstaining. Environment Committee Chair Jo Leinen said, "Parliament has issued a clear call to the Commission to take steps towards eliminating the deficits in safety and liability standards". While the committee favours a moratorium and 285 MEPs voted in favour of a drilling ban, 323 voted against instituting a moratorium.
(EurActiv with Reuters.)
