An announcement by environmentalists in Lisbon today shows that national fuel entity ENMC was either ‘uninformed or lying’ last year when it issued a release about a ship taking soundings off the coast of Aljezur, in exactly the places earmarked for oil drilling.
At the time, the ENMC refuted completely any connection between the Vos Purpose supply ship – sailing under an Italian flag – and the drilling concession shared between Italian oil company ENI and Portuguese counterpart GALP (click here)
But pressure group Climáximo has today discovered the ship was not only working for ENI, Portuguese authorities must have known all about it.
A document accompanying dispatches issued by the government and the ENMC clearly proves “that ENI contracted the Vos Purpose which was in action in the area of Aljezur between August 21 and September 20, while court embargoes were in effect and without the knowledge of the ENMC”.
Says Climáximo: “It is thus clear that in the best case scenario the ENMC has no knowledge of what its concessionaries ENI-GALP are doing in the waters in front of Portugal, which, besides from being surprising, shows once again the State’s total lack of preparedness and carelessness in this regard”.
In answer to questions from the Resident, Climáximo spokesman climate change engineer João Camargo agreed that the fact that the ENMC confirmed at the time that any kind of sounding activity would be illegal, could now open the way to judicial action.
He suggested “in the worst case scenario” one could conceivably conclude that the ENMC had known all along about what the Vos Purpose was doing and “simply lied”.
“Ironically”, said Climáximo’s post, “the investment made in contracting the Vos Purpose was one of the reasons given by the ENMC for prolonging authorisation for drilling by yet another year”.
Today’s news is being studied by other anti-oil groups that are fully aware that ‘behind the scenes’ everything is being done to open Portugal up to hydrocarbon exploration and production.
For now, Climáximo itself isn’t considering any kind of action, said João Camargo. “But for those who like the judicial route, I think there is reason enough here for action”.
Camargo added that the issue is mired in lunacy, not least because the ENMC should have been made extinct in December 2016 but “the oil companies wanted to keep it going” and thus it got a reprieve.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
