LONDON (AP) — Leading oil and gas companies warned British lawmakers yesterday that any UK moratorium on deepwater drilling in response to the Gulf of Mexico spill would force them to abandon the North Sea in favour of projects elsewhere.

Executives from Chevron Corp., France's Total and Danish state-controlled DONG Energy told a parliamentary committee that their industry would likely pull out of Britain if there was a lengthy halt to exploration and production — leaving the country increasingly dependent on imported energy.

All three companies also insisted that Britain's tighter safety standards make the chance of a major spill in the waters off the Scottish coast less likely, and repeated their criticisms of BP over the spill.

British legislators are investigating the safety implications of the Gulf of Mexico spill and considering whether the UK government was correct in deciding not to put in place a moratorium on new deepwater drilling in the North Sea.

An explosion at BP's Macondo well on April 20 which killed 11 workers and triggered the massive oil spill has led to a review of standards on safety across the industry.

"I can guarantee you that here, safety is concern number one," Roland Festor, managing director of Total Exploration and Production UK, told the Energy and Climate Change Committee. He said Britain's safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive, "is not making our life easy, but has my big support."

Festor said any moratorium on deepwater would lead energy companies to move equipment and experienced staff away from the North Sea to projects in other regions. "For me, the most important thing is to keep the know-how in the country," he said.

Britain's Conservative-led government has so far rejected a halt on drilling, despite fierce criticism from environmental groups. Greenpeace says it is necessary to address major safety concerns, including a rise in accidental leaks and serious injuries to workers on offshore platforms.

Earlier this month, Britain granted Chevron Corp. permission to begin the first new deepwater drilling in the North Sea since the Macondo spill. It has begun drilling an exploratory well in its remote Lagavulin prospect, about 160 miles north of the Shetland isles off the Scottish coast.