Environmental group Greenpeace has been banned from demonstrating on Shell oil rigs in the Brent oilfields in the North Sea by a court in Edinburgh.

The Anglo Dutch oil giant went to court to stop Greenpeace from embarking on any more rig-based protests since Shell announced it would not fully dismantle its four Brent rigs. Greenpeace activists occupied two of the rigs in October.

Greenpeace says leaving the foundations, which include tanks containing 11,000 tonnes of oil, will cause an environmental disaster. But Shell argues removing the concrete structures will be extremely dangerous for drivers and that they will break down without causing problems over time.

The Edinburgh court said that the rigs are private property and that Shell is within its rights to refuse access. The court banned Greenpeace from coming within 500 metres of the rigs and ordered the organisation to pay Shell’s legal costs.

Government

In October, the Dutch government said that it too wants Shell to clean up the foundations of oil and gas platforms in the British part of the North Sea.

The comments by infrastructure minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen follow the publication of a report on the decommissioning operation which recommends the clean up be carried out, as agreed over 20 years ago in international treaties.

The licence request ‘does not sufficiently support’ the claim that leaving the foundations and storage units, which contain polluted material, is the best option from an environmental or safety point of view, the minister told Dutch MPs.

The Netherlands, she said, will join Germany in making a formal protest about the plan to leave the rig foundations in place.