Oil Company Shoots Itself in Foot by Suing Greenpeace

I reported yesterday that oil company Cairn Energy was suing Greenpeace after 2 activists hung underneath its oil rig for 5 days in an “Arctic survival pod” (stopping it from drilling for oil) and then, a couple days later (Saturday), 18 activists (who are still in jail in Greenland) climbed Cairn Energy’s Arctic oil rig — Leiv Eiriksson – to retrieve its oil spill response plan and, after not receiving it, locked themselves to the rig (preventing it from drilling for oil for 8 hours).

Now, it seems Cairn Energy’s decision to sue for “2 million Euros in fines for every subsequent breach and every day the campaigners stop the Leiv Eiriksson operating” has backfired.

The Dutch judge hearing the case has asked the oil company “to release its secret Arctic Oil Spill Response Plan instead of granting it the multi million euro injunction it was seeking to end Greenpeace protests,” Greenpeace reports!

The Judge will make a final ruling on the injunction on Wednesday evening. After he asked for the release of the secret oil spill plan saying that the public concerns of the safety of the drilling was real, Cairn’s lawyers said they could not as this was against the wishes of the Greenlandic authorities. Independent legal advice obtained by Greenpeace (1) shows that there is no such impediment to the plan’s publication.

The judge further expressed concern about how Cairn would pay for any oil spill clean up and was distinctly unimpressed with Cairn’s legal team reassuring him that they had a cap on their exposure. He said this was about the environmental impact and not the companies finances.

As part of a longer comment on the results of the day, Greenpeace’s International Climate and Energy Campaign Director, Tzeporah Berman, said:

Cairn took a beating in the court room today trying to silence peaceful protest and hide from public scrutiny. The people of Greenland should be very worried about the kind of people who are drilling for oil off their coast. And their investors should be asking themselves just what it is that no one is being allowed to see and how big a risks they are exposing themselves to.

I’ll keep you updated, if you aren’t staying updated from Greenpeace’s site yourself.

More Greenpeace Arctic activism stories on Planetsave:

1. Greenpeace Arctic Activists in Court Today after 18 Activists Arrested
2. Greenpeace Activists Hanging above Arctic Waters (Under Oil Rig) for 3rd Day in a Row Now {VIDEOS}
3. Greenpeace Arctic Activist on Phone with Oil Rig Worker & Cairn Energy Headquarters {VIDEO}
4. Greenpeace Activists Now Preventing Arctic Oil Drilling Operation
5. Polar Bear Blocks Cairn Energy Headquarters, Greenpeace Activists Shadow Oil Rig in Arctic

Photo via Greenpeace, © Steve Morgan / Greenpeace