GP Steps Up Campaign to Stop Oil Exploration And Prevent Climate

["greenbase" <greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org>]

GREENPEACE STEPS UP GLOBAL CAMPAIGN TO STOP OIL EXPLORATION AND
PREVENT DANGEROUS CLIMATE CHANGE

LONDON, July 3, 1998 --- Greenpeace today stepped up its global
campaign to stop  new oil exploration and prevent dangerous
climate change with an 11 hour disruption of  oil giantsÆ
Statoil, Mobil and Enterprise' oil search in the North Atlantic,
north of Scotland. 

The action began at 20.25 hours yesterday evening when three
Greenpeace activists  placed themselves in the water in front of
seismic testing vessel Geco Diamond, operating 100 miles from
the Scottish coast. The activists, from England, Scotland and
France held pole buoys reading ôWind Not Oilö.

Greenpeace has been campaigning globally to stop oil exploration
since 1997, to expose the hypocrisy of Governments opening up
new oil frontiers at a time when climate protection demands that
they phase out fossil fuels. 

The Geco Diamond was attempting to carry out a seismic survey of
the seabed to assess  the presence of oil, on behalf of Statoil,
Mobil and Enterprise. All three companies are heavy investors in
this new oil frontier spending up to millions of pounds each in
the search for deep water oil. None of them have renewable
energy operations.

TodayÆs action follows GreenpeaceÆs protest at the northern edge
of the Atlantic Frontier last month when a Greenpeace vessel
confronted  Shell and StatoilÆs exploration rig, the Ocean
Alliance, off the coast of Norway. Greenpeace has also recently
launched its second expedition to the Arctic which will document
climate change impacts and protest the development of this new
frontier by UK oil company BP and others.

Speaking from on board the MV Greenpeace, Campaigner Robbie
Kelman said,  ôGovernments such as the United Kingdom should be
licensing offshore wind and not  pandering to the oil company
agenda and licensing the search for more oil. These  companies
are heading in the wrong direction. Renewable energy such as
wind is  economically viable now and has the potential to supply
all energy needs.ö 

The oil industry is predicted by industry analysts to spend $94
billion globally in 1998 on oil and gas exploration and
production, which represents an 11 per cent increase on last
year and is the second highest growth in spending during the
last decade.(1) ôDespite the historic Kyoto climate agreement,
itÆs business-as-usual for the oil companies and governments by
failing to take action, are dancing to their tune,ö said Kelman.

In Britain, Norway and Ireland, US, and many other countries
governments are actively  opening up new fossil fuel frontiers,
despite their commitment to climate protection. ôThe wild west
brawl for oil has to stop and the phase in of renewables has to
begin," said Kelman.

Note to editors:
1.Industry survey by oil industry analysts Salomon Barney Smith
- Oil and Gas Journal March 1998. 

Greenpeace on the Internet at http://www.greenpeace.org