Shell-Equinor merger belies industry in ‘terminal decline’ - Greenpeace

Reacting to the news that Shell and Equinor have merged to create the UK's largest oil and gas company, Doug Parr, Chief Scientist at Greenpeace UK, said:

“This merger has nothing to do with protecting the UK's energy security and everything to do with shoring up the profit margins of oil and gas fields which are producing less and costing far, far more. With two massive new Shell and Equinor fields already threatened by legal challenges from Greenpeace and others, this apparent show of strength belies an industry consolidating because it is in terminal decline.

“Jobs in North Sea oil have halved in the last decade despite hundreds of new projects being approved and further job losses are forecast in future. The most effective means to decrease bills, increase energy security and secure good, long-term jobs for North Sea workers is to invest in the cheap, homegrown renewables we need to power us through this century. 

“We can't allow the devastation caused by recent flooding in the UK and around the world be a portent of things to come. The government must hold fast on its commitment to banning new oil licenses, back a just transition for workers and force the oil industry to stop drilling and start paying for the damage it is causing at home and abroad.”