Activists Climb Jackup in Dundee

Activists on Monday boarded a jackup drilling rig in Dundee harbor, in Scotland, aiming to prevent the rig from departing for scheduled drilling operations for Shell in the North Sea.

The "occupied" rig, Valaris' KFELS Super A jackup Valaris Ju-122, is under contract to Shell through April 2021.

Environmental group Extinction Rebellion Scotland said three activists scaled the rig's towers and intend to stay up there for as long as possible to stop the rig leaving the harbor, and to halt the rig's operations. 

The activists reportedly left the rig on Monday afternoon due to deterioriating weather conditions, according to the BBC.

The group said "more actions will be taking place throuhout the country" in the coming weeks.

Commenting on the news, OGUK Chief Executive Deirdre Michie said, “This is a dangerous and short-sighted stunt which does absolutely nothing to help provide the solutions which will be required to meaningfully deliver net zero emissions by 2045 in Scotland.

“Worse than this, we know that the premature shutdown of the North Sea would only increase reliance on oil and gas imported from across the world where we have no control over emissions and with none of the substantial benefits our indigenous industry brings with it thousands of skilled  jobs, the funding of public services and energy security.

“This stunt puts both the activists and offshore workforce at risk and our industry – with its focus on safe operations – will not condone these actions.

“If Extinction Rebellion is serious about net zero then it needs to become serious about what will be required and recognize the critical contribution our industry could make if it realizes its full potential to support the transition to a lower carbon and more diverse energy mix.  

“Our industry is part of the solution and Roadmap 2035: a blueprint for net zero outlines our plans to reduce emissions from the operational production of oil and gas while supporting other heavy emitting sectors to reduce emissions through low carbon technologies including Carbon Capture Usage and Storage and hydrogen. This is an industry in action, and we are committed to working with anyone to find solutions and deliver the low carbon future we all want to see.”