North Sea oil rigs set to be abandoned while still full of crude oil and chemicals
Thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste including crude oil could be abandoned in decaying North Sea rigs by Shell with the permission of the UK government, prompting growing concerns among other European countries.
Due to the cost and difficulty of dismantling the structures, the oil giant has proposed leaving the vast concrete legs from three oil rigs standing in the waters.
These could remain for up to 500 years after the platforms have been decommissioned.
There is an estimated 11,000 tonnes of oil and toxins mixed with sediment held within the Bravo, Charlie and Delta, structures, which were built in the Brent oil field, to the East Shetland Basin, in the 1970s.