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Algarve - government to ensure oil companies 'are careful' when drilling

oilrigPortugal’s Secretary of State for Tourism, Ana Mendes Godinho, has stated that the Government will ensure that any exploratory drilling and oil extraction along the country’s coast will be done carefully.

"Nothing will be done that threatens tourism, this has been the concern of the government ... in fact, the situation has been completely monitored by the government, nothing will be done in opposition to the population, hence the concern is that nothing will be done to undermine our wealth," said Godinho at Tuesday’s Portuguese Tourism Summit in Lisbon.

As part of the panel participating in the summit, the secretary of state showed a video from Turismo de Portugal showing images of the country recorded by the public on mobile phone cameras.

Having praised the beauty of the images, especially the beaches, the panel moderator asked the secretary of state whether in the coming years those images would show oil platforms in the background.

With laughter in the room, Godinho said the Government is overseeing the oil exploration process "with care," thus ensuring she was in accord with the government’s stated policy of allowing the oil companies to find out if there is oil and gas onshore and offshore along the licensed coastal areas.

These oil concession licenses are for exploration and all other stages including extraction with few seriously believing that environmental assessments paid for by the oil companies will show anything but positive results. These reports will enable the oil companies seamlessly to progress from exploration to extraction despite howls of protest from the Algarve and other affected regions.

The flaw in the government’s argument is that if the oil companies thought that there was any serious doubt at all that they would be prevented from extracting oil and gas, based on an environmental survey that they themselves commission and pay for, the companies would not be spending tens of millions on exploratory surveys.

The thought of the government overseeing oil companies to ensure they are ‘taking care’ is as risible as it is untruthful with the fuels regulator ENCM now acting as a pro-oil adjunct to the powerful oil lobby and with the memory that the Deepwater Horizon disaster occurred during the exploratory phase of BPs Gulf of Mexico operations.

The Algarve's anti-oil pressure groups and its mayors claim rightly that accidents do and will happen and the risk, especially to the Algarve, to the booming tourism industry is not worth taking.

Ana Mendes Godinho has stated what will happen and that the oil concession contract will be allowed to run their course.

This remarkable foresight means she already appears to know the outcome of the legal action mounted by the Algarve’s mayors group AMAL, another example perhaps of political pressure being exerted on the judicial system that many foolishly had assumed was independent.

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Comments  

0 #14 Andy Words 2016-10-03 12:52
I travel between the UK, Portugal and Norway so have a broad view of the Algarve oil threat. Neither the UK or the Norwegians would ever accept the derisory financial deal bring offered. The Algarve will get nothing, neither will Lisbon- no 'profits' will ever be made by tax haven, multi-national companies, so they'll never have to share. It's also ironic to see posters in Tavira for the Deepwater Horizon movie - the environment and BP are still paying for that mess. Someone must have a sense of humour too - all over the building works in Faro airport are posters of the pristine and beautiful Algarve beaches. The beaches that bring people here and will soon be ruined by the inevitable oil spills. Oil always means accidents, everywhere. It just does. Accidents that take decades to clear up. The number of jobs lost in Algarve tourism, fishing and agriculture won't be replaced by new oil jobs. That's a fantasy. The Algarve will die as soon as the first rig arrives. Some corrupt people will get richer and move on. While the Algarve will be deserted, broken and so much poorer. Tourists and companies who can choose to go anywhere will vanish. I read one comment that said oil rigs would be a tourist attraction. That would be a first. Invest in staying unpolluted and caring for the environment and offering people and families a safe, clean, caring place. 99% of all power production in Norway comes from hydropower. Renewable is the future. They know it, the world knows it. How can some in Portugal want to destroy what makes their country special? It's so, so sad and so unnecessary.
-1 #13 RCK 2016-10-03 09:57
Quoting Fatboy:
I have to disagree with most, if not all readers and above submissions. I think the oil rigs and drilling in the area is a brilliant idea. The increased traffic, materials, personnel etc will bring in much needed income to the area. However, more importantly, it may well halt or reduce the numbers of Surfer groups currently being allowed in Aljezur with the Council doing absolutey nothing about them. I complained directly to the the Deputy President of Aljezur in July 2013. He agreed there was a problem and who - at that time - was the base of it but continued to do nothing. This oil business may well do the job for them.

You surely must be a Troll Fatboy
+3 #12 Awake ... 2016-10-02 22:09
Fatboy ... guess you live up to yr name ... as its clear you haven't a frikking clue about what risks versus alledged benefits the oil and gas exploration will bring to the region. Dream on off riches ... only in your dreams which is far from reality

Regarding surf - maybe you just a blob of a surfer or a wanbe?
-8 #11 Fatboy 2016-10-02 11:50
I have to disagree with most, if not all readers and above submissions. I think the oil rigs and drilling in the area is a brilliant idea. The increased traffic, materials, personnel etc will bring in much needed income to the area. However, more importantly, it may well halt or reduce the numbers of Surfer groups currently being allowed in Aljezur with the Council doing absolutey nothing about them. I complained directly to the the Deputy President of Aljezur in July 2013. He agreed there was a problem and who - at that time - was the base of it but continued to do nothing. This oil business may well do the job for them.
-1 #10 Joe K 2016-09-30 16:23
"careful when drilling" :-*
+3 #9 Poor Portugésa 2016-09-28 11:29
I am utterly ASHAMED of our corrupt politicians/banksters/civil 'servants' - just to think that our former PM Gutierrez might even become (equally corrupt) UN Nr.1 makes me shudder ...

As quoted here "The onshore drilling contracts that now have been deemed legal by a pressurised Attorney General's office, despite Portfuel failing on many counts to fulfill the necessary criteria" further, those in POWER have yet again ignored the tectonic plates peril..!!
Then there's the price which the 'people' will receive compared to what they have to pay for the product and many more anti's..
What price GREED?
+3 #8 Chip 2016-09-28 10:33
Quite apart from the probable disaster to the environment (black beaches, polluted water supplies...) has this stupid woman considered what a huge security risk this is?

The terrorists only need to blow up a couple of offshore rigs to completely destroy the country's economy.

Perhaps Godhino would like to open up her bank accounts for scrutiny before she crawls back into the pond.
+3 #7 CptBob 2016-09-28 08:34
Good stuff Ed. The public, in the Algarve anyway, does not want an oil industry based, especially one based on backhanders and lies. When Godinho speaks of the will of the people, she is being deliberately sly and giving a choice between having untold wealth - and not. This is not the choice and she bloody well knows it!

The 'deal' is an appallingly poor one for the Treasury and a fat zero for the Algarve, apart from 'job opportunities' for those cleaning up oil spills - according to one government joker.

I hope the mayors group AMEL (?) are not nobbled as well as the Attorney General.....
+5 #6 Nomis 39 2016-09-28 08:23
I think Ana Mendes Godhino got a lot of money from the oil companies which are forcing her to say that nothing will be done to undermine her and our wealth
+3 #5 DrReid 2016-09-28 08:10
I imagine that any 'situation has been completely monitored by the government,' is great cause for alarm.

The onshore drilling contracts that now have been deemed legal by a pressurised Attorney General's office, despite Portfuel failing on many counts to fulfill the necessary criteria, can be done with 'great care' while the government stands on site and closely monitors drilling fluids spilling into surface water channels (as has already happened), toxic fracking fluids entering the Algarve's intricate underground water system, significant noise pollution from drilling and fracking affecting house prices, the population and the region's tourists, additional transport on poor country roads to access sites and transport oil and liquid gas.

The very association of 'Algarve' with 'Oil' will be seized on by tourism competitors and makes tempting anti-Portugal copy for journalists from all over the world.

The first oil covered beach will hit the international headlines and the country will start to be remembered for oil and dead birds, not sun and sand and happy carefree holidays.

I really can not recall a more stupid policy, putting at risk 50 years of careful tourism investment and growth. How much was Environment Minister Jorge Moreira da Silva paid off to sign the oil agreements?

I hope it was worth it Jorge...

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