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Britain: BP continues with Libya well plans despite Italy drill ban call

https://www.chemnet.com   Aug 03,2010
BP is still carrying out its preparations for drilling a deepwater well
offshore Libya in the Mediterranean despite calls from the Italian government
for a drilling moratorium following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP said
Monday.


Italian environment minister Stefania Prestigiacomo told the Financial
Times published Monday that the Mediterranean's 21 littoral states should find
a "common voice" and implement a drilling moratorium.


"A moratorium could be a right approach for potentially dangerous
drilling...to give Europe time to define a new and specific strategy for the
Mediterranean especially in light of the risk exposed by the Deepwater Horizon
spill," Prestigiacomo said.


A BP spokesman, when asked if the company continued with its preparations
to drill offshore Libya, said: "Yes, that's right."


The spokesman stressed, however, that BP has yet to decide on when to
begin drilling the well.


"We've given no specific timings on this well, that still needs to be
decided. No final decision has been made," he said.


He added that it was up to individual governments to make decisions on
whether to allow drilling in their deep waters.


BP signed an exploration and production deal with Libya's National Oil
Corporation in May 2007 worth at least $900 million for the onshore Ghadames
and offshore Gulf of Sirte areas.


The Sirte offshore exploration well would be the first to be drilling
under the agreement.


ITALIAN CONCERN


Italy was the first European country to propose limits on offshore
drilling following the Gulf of Mexico spill.


At the start of July, Rome approved new legislation to ban offshore
drilling within five miles of its coastline and 12 miles around the perimeter
of protected marine parks.


Prestigiacomo said at the time the country's Council of Ministers had
adopted the decree to protect the Italian environment in the wake of the huge
US Gulf of Mexico oil spill.


However, the new legislation has yet to be published or applied to
operations.


Europe's Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger in early July also called
for a moratorium on drilling in the EU's deepwater.


Oettinger said EU member states should freeze new deepwater drilling as a
preventative measure until the causes of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon
blowout in the Gulf of Mexico are known and acted upon.
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