UK to double oil rig inspections, after BP leak

London, Jun 8: UK would double the inspections at oil rigs in the North Sea, informed the British officials on Tuesday, Jun 8, after the disastrous British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

UK would increase the average number of annual environmental checks aboard the nation's 24 oil drilling rigs, from eight to 16, informed Britain's Department of Energy. They would also hire three extra inspectors to implement a more agressive programme.

The department also said that the inspections involved the visits to each rig, but did not provide further details of inspections.

Department of Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said that the catastrophic leak in the Gulf of Mexico and its after effects had given the government 'a pause for thought'. "I believed the measures governing the nation's offshore energy industry were strong enough," Huhne said.

OneIndia News