Regarding the story (Report, January 31) that the Shell boss is ready to fight all the way to the Supreme Court to develop the North Sea’s Jackdaw gasfield, it’s worth recalling that Lord Ericht in a recent judgment in Scotland’s Court of Session stated that companies providing oil extracted from the North Sea for UK and non-UK consumers must have environmental impact assessments made of the oil’s downstream effects.
If correct, the law discriminates unfairly against North Sea operators as any company providing oil to UK consumers that has been extracted anywhere else in the world — and transported thousands of miles to these shores — has no such obligation.
The law, as so often, is an ass and must be changed to remove this discriminatory obligation on North Sea operators.
Hugh Brass
Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK
