The map of licences and concession areas published on the National Entity for the Fuel Market’s website has been updated to show the exploration areas off the southern Algarve coastline, awarded to the Repsol-Partex consortium, have been scrapped.
The Lagosta, Lagostim, Sapateira e Caranguejo blocks have been removed due to a government edict to the ENMC dated March 9th.
This is excellent news for those who have fought against the government’s plans to turn the seas off the Algarve's coastline into an oil and gas production area and the dedication of activists is at last being rewarded.
Climáximo, a climate movement, remains "committed to canceling the drilling off Aljezur and the remaining concessions," with Galp’s chairman stating last week that he was relaxed about the timing of this drilling and was just waiting for the green flag from the government before the drilling crews set sail.
There is hope that the government also will cancel this Aljezur drilling contract in the Santola area as policy switches to the latest threat to the oceans - deep sea mining.
In December 2016, the Portfuel contracts for onshore drilling and extraction in the Algarve were cancelled, leaving local businessman Sousa Cintra exasperated at the government’s action and unrepentant that he gave adequate reason for the contracts to be ditched by his own lack of adherence to the rules in place.
Luarunida Seabra, who heads the anti-oil association ASMAA, spend Friday in Lisbon at the launch of Portugal’s deep sea expansion and mining ambitions and commented that “the four contracts with Repsol-Partex, according to the people whom I met yesterday, have indeed been cancelled by a government decree to the ENMC dated 9th March.
“But all it means is that there's the risk now that new tenders will go out in the near future there's changes to the laws ... but not enough. The biggest challenge is not the oil licences its deep sea mining – yesterday’s event was all about this - we filmed the whole event - just waiting for it to be converted to web files - its worse than I thought - and far more advanced than people think. We have at the most 2 to 3 yeras to stop it.”
As for the government switch to deep sea mining, Seabra warns: “During the whole event yesterday, and after my 45 minute meeting with the Minister of the Sea and with the Secretary of State: Jose Apolinário, the one factor I realised is that the Minister appears to be navigating in waters infested by sharks. It soon became clear that the Ministry of the Sea is surrounded by powerful lobbies dressed as "friendly-sharks" which are navigating these turbulent waters.
“The facade of ‘benefits to Portugal’ will being sold to the people based on the expansion of our maritime area and this hides the terrible risks underlying the whole deap sea mining process.
“If we had reservations about deep offshore oil and gas exploration. Yesterday’s session raised our concerns to a level ten on the Ritcher scale.”
Despite this concern, the Algarve has cause for celebration but it seems that activist soon will have to switch their well-honed skills to challenge another destructive industry affecting the natural world.
The fact that deep sea mining is offshore and under water does not mean it is off the activists radar.
