Arrests as Extinction Rebellion blockades world’s biggest offshore drilling company Schlumberger

Protesters criticise ‘deep ties’ between oilfield services firm and Cambridge University

Police arrest a protester at Schlumberger’s research campus in Cambridge (Jeremy Peters/Extinction Rebellion)

Extinction Rebellion protesters demanding an end to the University of Cambridge’s relationship with fossil fuel giant Schlumberger have blockaded access to the company’s research centre, with a small number being arrested by police.

Schlumberger is the world’s largest offshore drilling company, providing oilfield services for the world’s biggest oil companies in more than 120 countries.

The activists used a boat, a fake oil rig, and metal tripods to prevent access to the main entrance and service entrance at the Cambridge site. They were planning to stay for a week in an effort to halt activity at the site and draw attention to the firm’s activities and its relationship with Cambridge University.

The site is where the company develops new methods of extracting oil and gas, Extinction Rebellion alleged, including some of the industry’s most harmful technologies: Arctic exploration, deep-sea drilling, tar sands, and fracking.

The organisation has a strong working relationship with the University of Cambridge, which provides training and resources through the Schlumberger Cambridge International Scholarship, and maintains a Schlumberger Professorship of Complex Physical Systems at the University.

An Extinction Rebellion Cambridge spokesperson said: "We’re here to stay. We’ve had enough of the University of Cambridge cosying up to fossil fuel giants which are destroying our planet.

"Just last week, the latest IPCC report reminded us of the true impacts of climate and ecological emergency - three quarters of the world’s population could face extreme heat stress in just a few decades as temperatures rise unchecked.

"A billion people will be at risk of serious coastal flooding. We are starting to see the effects of this in the UK, now. In February, Britain was wracked by the worst storm in decades - during a week that brought three severe storms. And the fallout from the invasion of Ukraine has shown us that fossil fuel dependency leaves us vulnerable to eye-watering price rises when war and political strife hits oil and gas supplies.

They added: "Schlumberger profits from our unhealthy dependence on oil and gas - yet the university continues to lend it legitimacy by hosting it on university land and providing it with a ready supply of academics to help with its fossil fuel research. We’re here today because the university has totally abandoned its moral duty to avert disaster by cosying up to planet-killers. It’s time to kick Schlumberger out of our city and off the planet."

A spokesperson for Schlumberger told The Independent: “At Schlumberger we are committed to playing our part in addressing climate change by reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions, and supporting our customers to reduce theirs, through targets aligned with climate science and by meeting the demand for energy sustainably.

"We invest in a range of initiatives to achieve this. Our transition technologies are deployed for customers to support their climate ambitions and we have made a public commitment to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In addition we created Schlumberger New Energy, developing solutions for the future that are low carbon, carbon neutral and carbon negative, which we intend to expand as part of Schlumberger’s strategic ambitions addressing climate change.”

They added: "The Schlumberger Cambridge Research centre is heavily involved in supporting the company’s commitment to net zero emissions, with many projects in new energy activities.

"We understand and accept the right of people to peacefully protest. We regret that this group is choosing to disrupt the normal working day of people, causing alarm rather than engage in meaningful discussion with key decision makers.”

The Independent has contacted The University of Cambridge for comment.