Greenpeace fears over Cambo drilling preparations

Activists in kayaks unfurled banners near the Siem Day vessel on Monday

Environmentalists have staged a protest at a ship preparing to load drilling kit destined for the controversial Cambo oil field.

Greenpeace says it is concerned the work means regulators have given the nod that the field will be consented.

Developers and regulators insist that is not the case and that work has now been postponed until next year.

Hazard notices published earlier this month suggest the subsea equipment was to be installed from this Wednesday.

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The three conductor anchor nodes, which are used as part of the drilling process, are sitting on a quayside next to the Siem Day vessel in the port of Stavanger in Norway.

Vessel monitoring data shows the ship's next destination is the Cambo field.

But Siccar Point Energy says permits have not been issued in time and the work has now been put off until next year.

Chief executive Jonathan Roger said: "This work needs to be carried out before well construction and so can legally sit out with the full field development environmental consent process.

"Work would only ever begin with the appropriate regulatory approvals in place and a decision has been made to delay this until 2022 due to operational issues and given the closing weather window west of Shetland for this kind of operation."

Activists in kayaks unfurled banners near the Siem Day vessel on Monday.

Their slogans urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to stop development of the field from taking place.

The Oil and Gas Authority is considering whether to grant a field development licence to the project which would see a production platform being installed at the site, west of Shetland.

But campaigners say the plans do not fit with the UK government's climate change ambitions as host of the UN climate conference COP26, and should be thrown out.

'Secretive deal?'

Mel Evans, head of oil and gas transition at Greenpeace UK, said: "Boris Johnson must explain why an oil company is setting up shop on this massive project before a final decision on Cambo has been announced.

"Has his government done a secretive, backdoor deal to allow work to start before an official permit has been granted?

"If so, he will be remembered as a climate failure who faltered when he should have shown courage. Johnson must stop Cambo, and he must stop it today."

A spokesman for the Oil and Gas Authority said: "We do not comment on individual applications.

"An application to install a suction-based well foundation will require the appropriate regulatory authorisations prior to installation."