The government’s anodyne reaction to the plans by British Petroleum to drill for oil in the Gulf of Sirte in Libya, just 515 kilometres away from Malta, has not gone unnoticed by political analysts studying the impact which, God forbid, a disaster similar to that which happened in the Gulf of Mexico could directly have on the island’s economic wellbeing.
Yes, of course, as a government spokesman was quoted saying, it is the responsibility of the Libyan government and BP to make sure that all the safety procedures are in place. But surely Malta, as, indeed, other neighbouring countries in the Mediterranean, could have passed much stronger comments than such a bland statement, which was compounded by another saying: “It is the role of the local competent authorities in charge of oil licensing and maritime safety, in this case Libya, to make sure all contractors in their national jurisdiction adopt the necessary industry-accepted standards and practices.” Does not this stand to reason?
At least in this case, the Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Muscat, has gone a step further and directly expressed his concern with Libya’s leader, Muammar Gaddafi, when he was paying him a courtesy visit a few days ago. Dr Muscat has been reported saying that the Libyan authorities gave him the clarifications necessary, agreeing that a Gulf of Mexico-type oil spill would be catastrophic and assuring him that the strictest safety precautions in the industry would be taken.
Of course, no guarantees were sought, and none was given, as, despite all the precautions that can be taken in the exploration and extraction processes, accidents do happen. It is the effectiveness or otherwise of contingency plans that must come into the fore when accidents involving spills happen. And spillage of oil is not unusual in the Mediterranean at all. On the contrary, it happens frequently.
BP’s plans to drill in the Gulf of Sirte has only set alarm bells ringing in Malta, and elsewhere in the Mediterranean, only because of the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. But the Mediterranean has been plagued by pollution for many years now. It is in fact considered as one of the most heavily polluted marine areas in the world.
According to one estimate, about 370 million tonnes of oil are transported annually in the Mediterranean, more than 20 per cent of the world’s total, with about 250 to 300 oil tankers crossing the sea every day. And, according to Ezio Amato, former chairman of the International Maritime Organisation’s oil pollution response unit, thousands of spills were reported in the Mediterranean every year. Besides, a stream of oil and oil products, estimated at 150,000 to 600,000 tonnes a year, escape from shipping, refineries, ports and pipelines. Add to this the thousands of tonnes of toxic waste pumped into the sea annually and you have all the reasons for the classification of the sea as one of the heaviest polluted in the world.
No wonder then that BP’s plans for the drilling of wells in the Gulf of Sirte is raising so much concern. It hurts therefore when such an important website as that of the Financial Times passes such comment as: “With cash-strapped governments courting Libya’s oil-fuelled sovereign wealth funds, countries such as Italy, Greece and Malta ... have refrained from commenting on Libya’s plans.” We are, of course, not taking into account the anaemic comment made by the government spokesman.