Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the environmental effect of oil exploration operations in Poole Bay.

Corallian Energy Limited submitted an Environment Statement to BEIS’s OPRED team to support an application to drill an offshore appraisal well in Poole Bay. The Environmental Statement, the comments received from statutory consultees and the representations made in response to the public notice were reviewed by the Department and it was concluded that the proposals would not have a significant adverse impact on the receiving environment or the living resources it supports, or on any protected habitats or species or other users of the sea. The decision can be found under Corallian Energy Limited at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/oil-and-gas-environmental-statements-reviewed

BEIS is extremely aware of the sensitivity of this stretch of the UK coastline, and the area in the immediate vicinity of the drilling location. This was therefore given detailed consideration during the review of the proposals, and appropriate mitigation was included to minimise as far as possible the risk of an accidental spill.

Officials in OPRED’s Offshore Environmental Inspectorate have visited the rig undertaking the drilling operations in Poole Bay and are content that operations are being undertaken in a responsible manner and in compliance with regulatory requirements.