ECO activists descended on a Dorset oil farm on bank holiday Monday demanding its licence to operate be revoked.
Environmentalists from Extinction Rebellion marched to Wytch Farm in rural Purbeck, banging drums and holding placards before setting up camp with a picnic outside the entrance gates.
Many took a microphone to denounce oil company Perenco for the oil leak in Poole Harbour in March, with others blasting its “petrol head” boss François Perrodo for his impressive car collection.
Protestor Richard Ecclestone demanded Perenco’s licence is “terminated immediately”, adding: “We don’t think that they can be trusted to safely operate this facility anymore.
“It’s the fag-end of an oil facility which is why BP sold it several years ago and what we see with these situations is when fields are at the end of their life, corners are cut to try and extract as much profit from the site as possible and safety takes a back seat.
Eco activists are marching towards Wytch Farm in Dorset, protesting against its licence to operate. In March, oil leaked form the farm into Poole Harbour @Bournemouthecho pic.twitter.com/nqHwtDMRfp
— Matt Simpson (@MattSimpsonEcho) May 1, 2023
“This is in evidence with the accidents that have already happened here and we reckon it’s time to pull the plug on Perenco’s operation here and return this area to the beautiful natural habitat that it should be.”
Mr Ecclestone added there was “no longer a need” for an oil facility to be in the area.
The demonstration met in a car park about two miles away from the site and the group, consisting of 80 people, marched towards Wytch Farm.
Read more: Poole Harbour Commissioner gives update as clean-up continues
Meanwhile one road to the site was blockaded by fences and security staff who were employed by Wytch Farm to prevent protesters from access.
Dorset Police was notified of the demonstration prior, with organisers insisting the demonstration would be peaceful. Officers from the rural crime team did show up but soon left.
Protester Marcus Fidge added: “We’re here to protest against Perenco, a multi-national oil company with a really shameful track record in safety.
“Although they recently had a big spill in Poole Harbour, they’ve had much more serious oil spills around the world so we want to go right to their gates and let them know we’re really not happy.”
Read more: Poole Harbour fluid spill: what we know so far
Producing oil since 1979, Wytch Farm is the largest onshore oil field in the UK and western Europe, with the oil first being discovered by the British government-owned British Gas Corporation in December 1973.
Since the leak on March 26, more than 300 bags of oil and contaminated materials have been collected from the beaches around Poole, and a total of 417,000 litres of oil and oily water collected from Ower Bay, according to Poole Harbour Commissioners.
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