As rumours swirl across social media that the Repsol-Partex offshore southern Algarve oil exploration contracts have been cancelled, the top man at Galp says he is in nor great rush to start drilling off the west coast in the Santola bloc off Aljezur.
Gomes da Silva said his Galp-ENI consortium is ready to start and, with the April-June good weather window approaching, management is waiting to get approval of the documents submitted to the government for the final go-ahead.
The government has named the day for local council elections. Sunday, October 1st will see voters choose their councils.
The Minister of the Presidency, Maria Manuel Leitão Marques, made the announcement after Thursday’s meeting of the Council of Ministers to name the date “for holding the general elections for representative bodies of local authorities.”
The parliamentary group of the Left Bloc asked the government on Thursday for the report on the public consultation on the granting of the licence for the exploration and exploitation of oil in the Alentejo Basin.
The Santola concession, signed to the Galp-ENI oil consortium in 2007, covers an area off the coast of Aljezur and has triggered, like all the other concessions, fierce opposition from environmental groups, the general public and other bodies such as the mayors’ group AMAL.
The Economy Minister has said that a study by the Competition Authority will lead to lower bottled gas prices later this year.
The Minister, Manuel Caldeira, said that a study by the Authority warns of the lack of competition in the bottle gas market and will lead to the implementation of price reduction measures later this year and that the government’s objective is the lowering of gas prices.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem has been invited to a European parliament session on April 4th but, fearing severe criticism to his “beer and women” comments about southern European nations’ use of Community funds, has said he is busy that day.
There is increasing pressure for Dijsselbloem to resign after his controversial statements about the Southern countries and the invitation to parliament by MEPs was answered with "Thank you for the invitation, unfortunately I am no longer available on that date."
Tolls on the Algarve’s Via do Infante motorway was discussed in Parliament once again on Thursday, but the ruling Socialist Party concluded that, "the country does not have the economic and financial conditions to be "free of tolls."
Parliament discussed a series of legislative initiatives from five political parties, with the exception of the Socialists, to end tolls on Via do Infante.
The Algarve’s Regional Directorate of Culture has ordered the immediate suspension of work being carried out on the walls of Olhão's principal church, Nossa Senhora do Rosário.
The exterior walls of this Property of National Interest are undergoing repair and renovation prior to repainting which, on the north side, seemed to be going well.
A bust of Cristiano Ronaldo was unveiled on Wednesday in the newly named airport in Madeira, becoming a social media sensation for all the wrong reasons.
Even the sculptor commented that “Not even Jesus pleased everyone," as the online criticism of the approximation of the football star’s image reverberated across cyberspace.
