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Greenpeace determined to delay arctic oil drilling

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Michael Bastasch DCNF Managing Editor
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The environmental activist group Greenpeace wants to prevent Gazprom’s arctic drilling operations for as long as possible.

“Right now, Greenpeace is just determined to prevent the oil rig from continuing its work for as long as possible,” Greenpeace media officer Myriam Fallon told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Greenpeace announced today that it had intercepted a supply vessel headed to an arctic drilling platform owned by Gazprom, it’s second such move against Gazprom operations in the Arctic.

The small group of seven activists was led by executive director Kumi Naidoo set off in two high-speed inflatable boats and intercepted a ship that was intended drop workers off at the Prirazlomnaya oil platform in the Pechora Sea. According to the group, the Gazprom ship has been stopped it for seven hours.

In a recent update the group says it brought in more activists to bring their numbers to 14, and that a Russian coast guard vessel is nearby possibly assessing the situation.

“So right now, the activists are chained to the anchor chain of the ship that carries the workers to the oil rig platform, and as long as that’s working to prevent the production of the oil rig from continuing we’ll just continue with that,” she said when asked about further Greenpeace plans to delay Gazprom drilling.

This is the second such move against Gazprom drilling operations in the Arctic. The first took place on Friday when six Greenpeace activists spent several hours hanging from the oil platform and hung a banner that read “Don’t Kill the Arctic.”

Prirazlomnaya is owned and operated by a subsidiary of Gazprom, the state-owned energy company. The drilling platform was installed the last year and is preparing to begin drilling its first well.

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