#drilling

materialsworld:

Week in Brief (5–9 February)

Credit:claudia gabriela marques vieira. Studland Bay, Dorset. 

An endangered species of seahorse is under threat from a proposal to drill for oil off the Dorset coast. The species achieved protection in 2008 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, however in 2017 only 14 spin and short snouted seahorses were recorded around Studland Bay.

A proposal to drill an exploratory well 6km off the Dorset Coast, near Studland Bay, has been submitted by Corallian Energy to the UK Government. A decision is expected by 19 February. The proposal has angered environmentalists and conservationists who fear exploratory drilling could permanently damage the ecosystem.

The Seahorse Trust believes drilling in the area would disturb the seahorses’ environment. Director Neil Garrick-Maidment commented, ‘The latest seahorse sighting was just half a mile from where they are planning to drill, another was seen just under a mile in another direction and a third was two miles away from it.

‘Studland Bay has to become a Marine Conservation Zone because of the environmental impact the anchoring has caused and now we have the threat of an oil spill on the doorstep.’

To find out more visit, bit.ly/2C4e8POandwww.theseahorsetrust.org

In other news:

–Sandvik Mining is investing US$25m in a new titanium and nickel metal powder plant 

– UK insurer Aviva has been criticised for investing in the Polish coal industry

–Gravitricity, a UK startup, has received £650,000 in funding from Innovate UK to use abandoned mine shafts to store energy

To find out more on materials science, packaging and engineering news, visit our website IOM3 at or follow us on Twitter @MaterialsWorld for regular news updates.

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