Oil company GALP and its partner, ENI, have withdrawn plans to drill off Aljezur in a decision that marks a turning point, with the government finally positioned to pay more than lip-service to its international carbon reduction and green energy obligations.
Environmental organisation, Zero, considers today’s announcement a huge victory for the region's population, the Algarve’s mayors, businessmen and those environmental groups which have been instrumental in changing public opinion and fighting hard to keep the oil companies away from the region's pristine beaches.
GALP's announcement that it will not continue its exploration and extraction planning off Aljezur is the most important environmental victory since the debate and vote on nuclear power. GALP president, Carlos Gomes da Silva, stated today that, “in relation to Portugal, we have taken the decision to abandon exploration.”
A later statement to news services, read, "Galp and ENI made the decision to abandon the exploration project in the Alentejo basin. Although we regret the impossibility of assessing the potential of offshore resources in the country, the existing conditions made it objectively impossible to continue the exploration activities,"
Galp added that, "given the existence of various legal processes the two companies will not make further comments at this time."
Court actions led by PALP and ASMAA, innumerable demonstrations, information giving sessions and ceaseless efforts on social media alerted the region's population to threats to the natural, social and economic values of the Algarve and southwest Alentejo.
The government has been helping the oil companies involved, overtly and covertly, spending taxpayers’ money on legal fees to try and fight a well-organised barrage of litigation from competent and intelligent 'antis'.
The Ministry of the Environment, now including the brief for Energy Transition, no longer has both a moral and operational problem, as, with the withdrawal of Galp from the oil concession area, Minister Matos Fernandes can look good in promoting Portugal as a leader in green energy production and technology.
Portugal’s great oil concession give-away raised eyebrows internationally, especially when the government signed the Paris Agreement while ignoring 42,000 signatories to a public petition against the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas in Portugal.
ZERO said today that the country, “now is more resilient and environmentally secure and can more legitimately assume a leading international role in combating climate change and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.”
There are still active oil and gas concession areas in play, the main problem one being Australis whose message to investors today, showed it was determined to stick to its four year plan and will start drilling soon.
Galp’s decision takes the wind out of the sails of the government’s blinkered obsession with turning the country into an oil production zone, with associated risks, and now allows the Socialist Party to claim the victory that rightly belongs to the anti-oil environmental groups across the land but especially in the Algarve.
This is not the end of oil and gas exploration in Portugal, but may mark the beginning of the end and certainly represents a huge victory in the battle for a cleaner future.
Galp's CEO said to analysts, "We will continue to invest in Portugal and make way in the field of sustainable mobility, on the competitiveness and energy and environmental efficiency of refineries as well as progressively reinforcing our focus on marketable renewable energy sources."
Lauinda Seabra from ASMAA comments:
"Its great news, and we are all very happy about the current outcome. Its as a result of the massive work done by the ASMAA team, the work of other associations and the opposition by thousands of individuals, and municipalities that we have received this great news today. We are all to be congratulated.
"But at the same time we should not forget that ASMAA is challenging seven legal processes in court, a process that is still going on, we must take into account that ASMAA has not officially been informed that the contract has been canceled, nor should we forget the collaboration agreement that was signed on 3 October between Galp and the University of Algarve (CIMA project) - a collaboration agreement that we are not privy to its terms and conditions.
"Taking into account the recent reshuffle in government which saw some major changes in the Environment Ministry, we would not be surprised if we find that the University of Algarve under the pretext of having to know what are the countries "fossil fuel resources are" that a new TUPEM application would be applied for by the university, with Galp (and other parties) as willing collaborators, and neither should the people of Portugal be surprised.
"But nonetheless we congratulate all that made it happen so far, but although we may have won this battle the war is far from over, we need to keep in mind that just the strategies have changed."
