WWF: Arctic States Should Suspend Oil Drilling - Report

16th Jun 2010 12:35

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Arctic states should suspend oil drilling in the region until the risk of accidents can be eliminated, RIA Novosti quotes the World Wildlife Fund as saying Wednesday. "It is time for the Arctic states to recognize that offshore oil drilling with the current technology and response capacities poses unacceptable risks," Alexei Knizhnikov, oil & gas environmental policy officer for WWF-Russia, is quoted as saying at a meeting of the Arctic Council. "Norway and the U.S. have already taken the first step, by putting off any further Arctic offshore drilling until an investigation into the Gulf disaster is over." The first exploratory drilling is scheduled to take place off the west coast of Greenland this year, while Norway and Russia have exploration plans, the report says. The Arctic Council is discussing measures to prevent or contain oil drilling accidents in the wake of the BP PLC (BP) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, RIA Novosti reports. Full story: http://en.rian.ru/Environment/20100616/159446053.html -London bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 78 42 9330; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 16, 2010 07:35 ET (11:35 GMT)