The Council of Ministers has authorized in its meeting this Friday the hydrocarbon explorations in Canary Islands waters, which will be carried out by Repsol YPF. In this way, the Government gives the green light to Repsol's project to explore the waters off the coasts of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura in search of hydrocarbons and is ahead of the demonstration against the project that is scheduled for March 24.
Company executives told La Voz last week that the search would be carried out at a minimum distance from the coast of "60 kilometers".
The visit of Repsol's executives divided the islands, since while Lanzarote and Fuerteventura continue to show their rejection and are preparing for the demonstration against it that will take place on March 24, the port businessmen of Gran Canaria see benefits in them. Even, the Cabildo rejected a motion against the explorations, with the votes of the PP government group.
Since his arrival to the government group, José Manuel Soria showed his clear intention to authorize this project, which was suspended in 2004 by order of the Supreme Court. The company was already exploring in Canary Islands waters during the years 2002-2003.
Saénz de Santamaría defends "the general interest"
This Friday, the Vice President of the Government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, has assured that what the Government of Spain has done is to approve a Royal Decree that validates another one from 2001, which authorized the realization of hydrocarbon explorations, despite the fact that this decree was annulled by the courts, according to ACN Press.
The Vice President has assured that these measures have been taken, and that this Royal Decree (RD) should have been approved since 2004. In addition, she insisted that the only thing that is being done "is to validate a RD that has taken time to execute".
Asked about this approval with the opposition of the Canary Islands institutions, the Vice President recalled that the State is competent to regulate hydrocarbon explorations, and that the Government of Spain takes "its decisions based on the general interest". In addition, she pointed out that experts assure that there are great possibilities that in the indicated geographical point there are "pockets" of hydrocarbons. "If they exist, we must investigate if this is really the case".
Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría has also recalled that "other countries", in reference to Morocco, are also investigating the same possibility in the perimeter of their waters. "We do not believe that there are arguments to delay this decision any longer", she stated.
