WASHINGTON - As Dutch Royal Shell today admitted the worst oil spill in the United Kingdom in a decade could become four times greater than it is now, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over offshore drilling, issued the following statement. Shell has yet to identify the cause of the leak resulting in the spill and delayed for three days issuance of a public statement about the leak after it informed British authorities. Shell Oil has recently won approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) to begin drilling exploration in the Beaufort Sea in the U.S. Arctic.
"It has only been a year since the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico was capped, bringing an end to the worst oil spill in America's history. Unfortunately, we are experiencing another summer in which we watch a worst of its kind oil spill that wasn't supposed to happen. Shell's response to the UK North Sea oil spill calls into question the company's ability to deal quickly and transparently with the potential for a blowout and worst-case scenario in the Beaufort Sea, especially when drilling in the challenging conditions of the Arctic. This is yet another tragic reminder that we need to immediately pass oil drilling safety legislation in the U.S.
"Unfortunately, the Republican House majority continues to ignore the common-sense safety recommendations made by the independent bipartisan Commission that studied the causes of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. They have failed to take action on H.R. 501, the ‘Implementing the Recommendations of the BP Oil Spill Commission Act of 2011', which I introduced in January. Similar legislation passed the House in the previous Congress, and its provisions largely mirror the key recommendations of the Commission.
"Rather than watch history continue to repeat the worst of itself with more environmental catastrophes, we need to immediately implement the safety reforms that will prevent another spill in U.S. waters."
