Shell fined £22,500 over North Sea oil spill

Firm admits failures that led to the largest oil spill in more than a decade

Shell has been fined £22,500 by a Scottish court after admitting failures that led to an oil leak in the North Sea that was the largest in more than a decade.

A subsea pipeline leak from the company's Gannet Alpha field spilled more than 200 tonnes of oil into the central North Sea in August 2011. Aberdeen Sheriff Court imposed the fine after Shell pleaded guilty in the case.

The spill was realised after a quantity of oil was spotted on the sea surface in the vicinity of the Gannet field, 180 kilometres from Aberdeen. The initial reported surface area of oil as identified by the stand-by vessel was approximately 4.5 kilometres in length and 100 metres in width.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) carried out a joint investigation into the incident which concluded that the Gannet oil production pipeline within the pipeline bundle had failed. As a result, an estimated 218 tonnes of crude oil entered the insulated area between the production pipeline and its sleeve and was ultimately released to sea through the relief valves. It concluded there was no significant environmental impact or any risk that anyone would be harmed.

Shell subsequently accepted the charge, saying it had since carried out a review of its North Sea pipeline system and had applied lessons learned across its British operations.

"We deeply regret the Gannet spill and accept the fine which has been handed down to us. We know that no spill is acceptable," said Shell's Upstream Director for the UK and Ireland, Paul Goodfellow, in a statement.

However, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has since said it is disappointed with the size of the fine, saying that for a company that earns billions, it will 'do little to deter future poor behaviour' by oil and gas companies to avoid more damage to the environment.

“While it’s welcome that Shell has accepted its guilt, the paltry size of the fine handed down will do little to deter future poor behaviour by it or the rest of the oil and gas industry,” said Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland.