Environmental group attacks oil usage

Environmental group Greenpeace has attacked oil companies for reducing the water quality in seas across the world.

Last week, head of the group's energy campaign Jim Footner said that the recent oil explosion in the Gulf of Mexico was the result of a "sorry catalogue of the gaffes and failures".

BP was operating on the rig when it blew up, an accident which killed 11 workers and released millions of barrels of oil into the sea, reducing the water quality of the area.

Mr Footner stated: "The real problem is our addiction to oil, which is pushing companies like BP to put lives and the environment at risk."

He called for governments to stop "recklessly squeezing the last drops of oil" from the seabed.

The environmental campaigner added that the disaster has shown that it was now time to "invest in clean energy".

Last week, an investigation into the blast reported that the explosion was caused by the cement and shoe track barriers failing to contain the hydrocarbons in the reservoir and rig members not responding appropriately to this, as well as the fire and gas system not preventing the flow of gas into the engine room.

Posted by Claire Manning