BRENT SPAR HISTORICAL TIMELINE
Inspired by a real-life protest in 1995, To Save the Sea is a vibrant, new musical about a group of environmental activists who occupy an oil structure in the North Sea.
- 1976: Shell installs the Brent Spar on the Brent oil field, located about 140 miles off
the coast of Shetland, in the North Sea. The Brent Spar was an oil store that could
hold up to 300,000 barrels of crude oil.
- 1980: Shell constructed a pipeline to go directly from the oil field to the mainland,
and so no longer had any use for the Brent Spar oil store.
- 1991: Dismantling the Brent Spar on land would cost Shell roughly £41 million,
whereas deep sea disposal (sinking the Brent Spar into the ocean) would only cost £19 million. They opted for deep sea disposal.
- 1995: While Shell planned to dump the defunct Brent Spar oil store in the middle of
the North Sea, a group of Greenpeace activists decided to take action, concerned
about the oil, toxins and PCB still present in the structure that would pollute the ocean
and harm sea creatures and global water systems.
- Activists from all over Europe assembled and set sail for the Brent Spar.
- April 1995: The activists scaled and occupied the Brent Spar and demand that Shell
or the UK government revoke their decision to dump the structure at sea.
- The activist remained on the Brent Spar for over 3 weeks, enduring the blasts of giant
water cannons from Shell vessels, and repeated attempts to intercept their supply boats.
the coast of Shetland, in the North Sea. The Brent Spar was an oil store that could
hold up to 300,000 barrels of crude oil.
- 1980: Shell constructed a pipeline to go directly from the oil field to the mainland,
and so no longer had any use for the Brent Spar oil store.
- 1991: Dismantling the Brent Spar on land would cost Shell roughly £41 million,
whereas deep sea disposal (sinking the Brent Spar into the ocean) would only cost £19 million. They opted for deep sea disposal.
- 1995: While Shell planned to dump the defunct Brent Spar oil store in the middle of
the North Sea, a group of Greenpeace activists decided to take action, concerned
about the oil, toxins and PCB still present in the structure that would pollute the ocean
and harm sea creatures and global water systems.
- Activists from all over Europe assembled and set sail for the Brent Spar.
- April 1995: The activists scaled and occupied the Brent Spar and demand that Shell
or the UK government revoke their decision to dump the structure at sea.
- The activist remained on the Brent Spar for over 3 weeks, enduring the blasts of giant
water cannons from Shell vessels, and repeated attempts to intercept their supply boats.
- May 1995: Shell removed protestors from the Brent Spar.
- Meanwhile, images of the activists being attacked with giant water cannons and
recordings of their appeal spread. Protests break out across Europe in support of the
activists. This includes petrol boycotts on Shell service stations, resulting in loss of
profits of up to 50% in parts of Germany.
- This battle also becomes an international, political saga, as UK Prime Minister John
Major and German Chancellor Helmut Khol go head to head at the G7 Summit.
Whilst Khol stands against deep sea disposal, Major stands by Shell.
- June 1995: As Shell started towing the Brent Spar out towards the dumping position in the middle of the North Sea, Greenpeace activists made a second attempt to board
the platform - via helicopter drop. On the structure, they are faced with defusing live
explosives.
- On board the Brent Spar once again, the activists received news that Shell was going to make a U-Turn and the rig started to turn around and go back to land. Victory!
- Meanwhile, images of the activists being attacked with giant water cannons and
recordings of their appeal spread. Protests break out across Europe in support of the
activists. This includes petrol boycotts on Shell service stations, resulting in loss of
profits of up to 50% in parts of Germany.
- This battle also becomes an international, political saga, as UK Prime Minister John
Major and German Chancellor Helmut Khol go head to head at the G7 Summit.
Whilst Khol stands against deep sea disposal, Major stands by Shell.
- June 1995: As Shell started towing the Brent Spar out towards the dumping position in the middle of the North Sea, Greenpeace activists made a second attempt to board
the platform - via helicopter drop. On the structure, they are faced with defusing live
explosives.
- On board the Brent Spar once again, the activists received news that Shell was going to make a U-Turn and the rig started to turn around and go back to land. Victory!
- July 1995: the Brent Spar was towed to Norwegian waters and, eventually,
dismantled on land. Parts of the structure were re-used to build a pier.
- 1998: The organisation OSPAR passed an official ban on dumping oil installations in the sea.
dismantled on land. Parts of the structure were re-used to build a pier.
- 1998: The organisation OSPAR passed an official ban on dumping oil installations in the sea.
But this story isn’t just for the history books, the protest against dumping the Brent Spar couldn’t be more relevant today:
- October 2019: More than twenty years after Brent Spar, Greenpeace activists boarded
offshore oil structures in the North Sea once again – Brent Alpha and Brent Bravo – to protest against Shell’s plans to leave these old, rusty structures floating in the ocean rather than removing and dismantling them properly.
- February 2023: Greenpeace activists occupy Shell’s brand-new oil platform for 13 days as it is transported to the North Sea. The activists demand there be no new oil and gas developments. They ask Shell to stop drilling and start paying for the damage fossil fuels have caused around the world.
- 2024, Ongoing: Shell are currently attempting to sue Greenpeace for $1.7 million for
‘intimidation’ following the 2023 protest, despite it being a safe, peaceful, well-planned, and democratic protest.
Find out more about the history of Brent Spar on the Greenpeace website here
Image credit: Greenpeace & David Sims