Environmentalists are urging the government to keep a watchful eye on the British oil giant BP, which was responsible for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, after Libya gave it the go-ahead to start oil exploration in the Mediterranean.

BP was granted permission by the Libyan government this week to start test drills in its territorial waters after an exploration agreement was signed between the two in 2007.

The operation comes in the wake of worldwide criticism over millions of gallons of oil leaking from one of BP’s wells into the Gulf of Mexico since April – a spill the company estimates will cost it over €2 billion.

In fact, three Maltese environmentalists – Alan Deidun, Edward Mallia and the chairman of the Church’s environment commission Victor Axiak – believe the government should keep a careful eye on what will take place in Libyan waters.

Although oil exploration was not as dangerous as extraction, Dr Deidun said the government should keep tabs on the situation, especially if an oil well were found.

“The direct intervention on the seabed is very limited in exploration so there is not much need for concern. They might find oil but it will not be released,” he said.

However, the situation would change drastically if oil was found and the government should have a look at what safety measures would be put in place.

“The Libyan coast is one of the most important eco-systems for turtles and a major oil spill would definitely create a huge biological disaster,” Dr Deidun said.

During the exploration and appraisal phase, BP is expected to drill around 17 exploration wells in around 54,000 square kilometres in deep waters around the Sirt basin and Ghadames area.

The exploration will be undertaken with the Libyan National Oil Company with a minimum expenditure of $900 million.

But Prof. Mallia was more sceptical about how effective the government’s intervention would be. “They could warn against possible accidents but the Maltese government will not have any powers to enforce anything. I doubt that anyone could interfere in what goes on between Libya and BP.”

In his comments, Prof. Axiak questioned the seriousness of BP which was put in a “bad light” by the oil spill.

“The government needs to be careful and see what risk management measures will be put in place once they start,” he said.

A government spokesman said it was the responsibility of the Libyan government and BP to make sure that all the safety procedures were in place.

“It is the role of the local competent authorities in charge of oil licensing and maritime safety, in this case Libya, to make sure all contractors in their national jurisdiction adopt the necessary industry-accepted standards and practices,” the spokesman said.

He also pointed out that the risks associated with oil exploration were recently discussed at EU level at a meeting attended by the Malta Resources Authority.

A spokesman for BP told The Times the recent “tragedy” was on their minds as they were preparing for the exploration drilling offshore in Libya.

Although it was not yet clear what had caused this “complex accident”, it was clearly “unprecedented”.

“In due course the lessons of the accident will be learned and applied in all of BP’s operations globally, including in Libya,” the spokesman said.

He also insisted that BP would never carry out any operations unless they had full confidence in their contractor’s and their own ability to commence and run an operation “safely and efficiently”.

BP Libya had completed a very rigorous and detailed audit, the spokesman added, which was standard practice before it started any deepwater drilling.