Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Liability shifting (spin-offs, bankruptcy, closure bonds) · United Kingdom · 1995–2019

Brent Spar decommissioning controversy (North Sea)

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 2 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

The sources reviewed describe the Brent Spar controversy only through later references: a 1995 trade-press headline on a Greenpeace admission of error (unverified) and the later cost to the UK public of North Sea decommissioning.

£24bnUK government share of North Sea oil and gas decommissioning cost
As headlined by Environment Analyst (2019) from National Audit Office figures; of a £58bn total decommissioning cost.

Status As of 2019: the latest source reviewed reports the UK government share of North Sea decommissioning cost at £24bn; the Brent Spar events themselves are not documented in the sources reviewed.

What?
A controversy over the decommissioning of the Brent Spar oil installation in the North Sea; the sources reviewed document only later cost figures. Environment Analyst (reporting National Audit Office figures)
Where?
North Sea, United Kingdom. Environment Analyst (reporting National Audit Office figures)
When?
Controversy dated 1995 in an unverified trade-press item; cost figure reported in 2019. Oil & Gas Journal
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not on record in the sources reviewed.
How?
Not on record in the sources reviewed.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The Brent Spar controversy concerned the decommissioning of an oil installation in the North Sea. The sources reviewed contain no account of the events themselves.

A 1995 Oil & Gas Journal item is headlined "Greenpeace: We erred in Brent Spar controversy" and is listed with the note "quantity of oil error"., so its content is unverified.

In 2019 Environment Analyst reported National Audit Office figures under the headline "North Sea O&G decommissioning to cost UK government £24bn". The sources reviewed give the total UK decommissioning cost as £58bn, of which about £24bn is borne by taxpayers.

  1. 1995Oil & Gas Journal headline: "Greenpeace: We erred in Brent Spar controversy"
  2. 2019Environment Analyst reports the UK government share of North Sea decommissioning at £24bn

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    Decommissioning cost borne by UK taxpayers
    £24bn
    Of £58bn total (National Audit Office figures, via Environment Analyst, 2019)

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a 1995 Oil & Gas Journal item says Greenpeace erred in the Brent Spar controversy, listed as an error about the quantity of oil.
    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a separate figure of £43bn in decommissioning cost with £10.8bn taken by the Treasury was flagged as unconfirmed.
    • None on record The decommissioning method chosen, the quantity of oil and any environmental measurements are not given in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not on record in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    UK taxpayers bear about £24bn of an estimated £58bn North Sea decommissioning cost (National Audit Office figures, via Environment Analyst, 2019).

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    1. North Sea O&G decommissioning to cost UK government £24bn
      Environment Analyst (reporting National Audit Office figures) · 2019

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Science and environment

    Hectare (ha)
    A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.
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