There have been more than 2000 oil spills in the North Sea since 2011 including 215 in marine protection areas which are home to some of Scotland’s most threatened species and habitats, The Ferret can reveal.
Our analysis of official UK Government data on oil and gas spills found that 1175 tonnes were spilled between January 2011 and December 2023. In total, there were 2252 spills.
A total of 308 tonnes of oil spilled into marine protected areas (MPAs) over the 13-year period.
Marine life is at risk from routine spills, green groups pointed out, and oil and gas production harms marine life through toxic chemicals, microplastics and extreme noise pollution through seismic blasting.
Exposure to toxic oil fumes has been recognised to kill whales and dolphins even years later, according to the Centre for Biological Diversity.
Nearly all the spilled oil – 97% – came from oil rigs, while the remaining amount was spilled from mobile rigs, pipelines and vessels.
The Ferret’s investigation is part of a special series called Scotland’s Seas in Danger, and it follows the UK Government’s controversial plans to authorise hundreds of new oil and gas licences in the North Sea.
Environmental campaigners said The Ferret’s findings showed the scale of “chronic oiling” of the North Sea by the fossil-fuel industry. Greenpeace said drilling for oil can “devastate marine ecosystems” but despite this the UK Government is “greenlighting a new North Sea drilling frenzy – including in marine protected areas – that will further imperil ocean life and worsen the climate crisis”.
In reply, the UK Government said it has an extensive framework of environmental protection measures in place to deal with spills. A trade body for the oil and gas industry said companies have “comprehensive oil spill response plans in place to mitigate against potential incidents occurring and minimise the impact should they occur”.
The Ferret analysed the data on unplanned hydrocarbon releases at North Sea oil and gas facilities, which were reported to the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED).
Offshore oil and gas operators in UK waters must report all accidental releases of oil or chemicals to OPRED within six hours, regardless of the volume of the spill. They use the Petroleum Operations Notice 1 (PON1) reporting system. The vast majority of incidents – 99% – were below two tonnes and averaged two kilograms. Spilled liquids include crude oil, diesel, condensate, hydraulic oil and lube oil. Most spills include oil and liquid gas.
In January, the UK Government gave 17 oil companies the right to drill for fossil fuels in 24 new licence areas across the North Sea. These followed an initial tranche of 27 licences offered in October last year. The licences were granted in the Central North Sea, Northern North Sea and West of Shetland areas.
Firms could begin producing oil and gas before the end of the decade, the North Sea Transition Authority said.
According to the Scottish Government’s 2020 Marine Assessment, even small oil spills can have an environmental impact if they happen in conservation areas.