The ENSCO-72 drilling rig in Poole Bay, Dorset. An application for a windfarm about three years ago off the Dorset coastline was refused on grounds of harming the view. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA
Environment groups oppose license for Corallian Energy extractions along protected coastline running to March.
An oil company drilling off the Dorset coastline is attempting to extend its license into the spring, challenging the conditions imposed to protect the sea’s many sensitive wildlife species.
Corallian Energy has set up a rig visible from the protected coastline and in close proximity to 58 marine and coastal protected areas. Sensitive and protected species offshore include bottlenose dolphins, seahorses, rays and breeding populations of seabirds including sandwich terns and little terns.
