...and so it starts, a Socialist Party apparatchik taking credit for the wave of happiness created by the decision by Galp-Eni to withdraw from their oil drilling and extraction concession area off Aljezur.
The President of Socialist Party for the Algarve, Luís Graça, has written an open letter to the Prime Minister and the Algarve’s mayors, stressing "the need for the region to agree with the Government on a strategy of environmental excellence, with the consequent reduction of the ecological footprint, encouraging electric mobility, energy efficiency and the valorisation of the immense natural heritage of the Algarve."
This is from the party that was happy to have energy companies develop the Algarve as an oil production zone, while throwing legal, procedural and bureaucratic obstacles in the path of those environmental groups determined to halt the exploration process.
This socialist MP was the head of the working group set up by the pro-oil parliament 'to review legislation on exploration and extraction of oil and gas.' For so long silent, only now do we hear his clear, green, sustainable, eco-friendly voice.
Graça now is happy to underline, "the legislative developments that have been achieved in this area, namely strengthening of transparency, the role of local authorities and of environmental rigour,” and writes that he understands “the effort that the Government has made so as not to burden the Portuguese taxpayers with paying heavy damages to the oil companies."
The Socialist Party MP recalls the decisions taken by the Government that, "cancelled the contracts that the Passos Coelho-Paulo Portas government signed with the businessman Sousa Sintra to search for oil in 70% of the territory of the Algarve, as well as the end of the Repsol contract for drilling for natural gas,” (* see below) and writes that, “even if from a legal point of view the contract with Galp-ENI was valid - from an economic point of view it would be negative for Portugal and particularly bad for the Algarve."
Luís Graça is satisfied with ENI and GALP's decision to abandon their oil drilling plans off Aljezur, as he understands that for the Algarve, "our oil is tourism and this requires environmental levels of excellence incompatible with oil exploration," precisely the opposite of his Party's stance on this isue, until this Monday.
Graça, for so long silent on the oil debate, shacked by his party’s insistence that drilling for oil and gas in an excellent idea, now considers that the Galp-ENI announcement is, "good news for Portugal and excellent news for the Algarve."
Guaranteed to get his letter in the press, but for all the wrong reasons, Graça has tried to soak up the positive rays emitted by the energy consortium’s decision to abandon the Santola concession area, while calling for a timetable towards “environmental excellence, with goals and time limits agreed with government in order to ensure ecological sustainability for the region and to enhance the economic contribution that the Algarve and tourism currently gives and will continue to develop.”
This is what politicians do, their memories are wiped at the end of each working day. For Graça, the government has always been anti-oil, the last government should be blamed for all ills and this zero-carbon government is greener than green, sustainable and environmental champions .
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The Repsol-Partex and Portfuel contracts:
* What really happened was that the National Entity for the Fuel Market (ENMC) concluded that there had been unjustified and unexplained non-fulfillment of the Repsol-Partex 2016 Work Plan, so rescinded the contract.
As for Sousa Cintra, the Attorney General's Office considered that there had been a failure by 'Portfuel' to comply with the contract terms, the company also failed to provide proof of obligatory liability insurance so the licence was rescinded.
