German environmental groups have joined forces to block a major oil and gas project in the Polish Baltic Sea. Their campaign has already gathered 88,000 signatures ahead of a planned petition to the European Commission.
The petition is expected to be handed to the European Commission in September. According to Business Insider Polska, the signatures come from countries bordering the Baltic Sea, and the initiative is backed by a coalition of German environmental groups concerned about the impact of drilling near protected marine habitats.
At the centre of the dispute is the Wolin East concession area off the coast of Świnoujście, where large reserves of crude oil and natural gas were identified last year. Estimates put the deposits at about 22 million tonnes of oil and 5 billion cubic metres of gas, with a total market value exceeding PLN 40 billion at current prices.
A record-breaking find in Polish waters
The Wolin East field has been described as the largest oil discovery in Polish history. CEP has held the concession for several years and is entitled to future extraction, but the company must still clear further preparation stages and obtain necessary approvals before production can start.
The discovery was made by Canadian company Central European Petroleum (CEP), controlled by Norwegian investors. The company already holds the rights to the area and has been licensed there for years, which means the legal basis for future work is in place.
German coalition lines up against drilling
One of the groups leading the protests is Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND). Its representative Corinna Cwielag warned that the area under consideration is a particularly valuable Baltic Sea ecosystem already under heavy pollution pressure.
– European marine protected areas begin only about 200 metres from the previous drilling site – she said.
– Starting extraction would mean underwater noise, pollution and the risk of an oil spill – she added.
BUND has formed an alliance with other German environmental organisations, including the German environmental organisation DUH, WWF and the citizens’ initiative Lebensraum Vorpommern. Together they want to increase the chances of blocking the planned investment and are preparing to present their case to EU authorities.
Source: WNP.PL, Photo: Shutterstock/Mohamad Baihaki
