Ana Oramas' misinformation about oil

By Manuel Fernández On May 26, Mrs. Ana Oramas, made a series of considerations and interpretations about the recent European Directive regarding the extraction of hydrocarbons, to conclude that "The rush in ...

June 1 2013 (10:52 WEST)
By Manuel Fernández
On May 26, Mrs. Ana Oramas, made a series of considerations and interpretations about the recent European Directive regarding the extraction of hydrocarbons, to conclude that "The rush in ...

On May 26, Mrs. Ana Oramas, made a series of considerations and interpretations about the recent European Directive regarding the extraction of hydrocarbons, to conclude that "The rush in the authorization of the surveys, is due to the intention of the State Government to benefit Repsol,

so that it does not have to comply with the provisions of said Directive."

Ana Oramas elaborates on considerations that do not conform to the reality of the facts in order to discredit those of us who defend hydrocarbons as an economic and labor opportunity for the Canary Islands. Not differentiating the work of prospecting (research) from that of extraction (exploitation) leads to conceptual errors.

In the first place, the authorization of the surveys, which only aim to find out if in the affected area 61 km from the Canary coasts, there is oil or gas in sufficient quantity and acceptable quality, without any risk because there is no extraction, were authorized in

2002, being paralyzed by the PSOE Government in 2004 due to a formal defect in the processing of the environmental impact report.

PSOE Government presided over by Mr. Rodríguez Zapatero that did authorize surveys in 2009 on the Levantine coast, in the Balearic Islands and on the coast of Cádiz, and unblocked the survey file in Spanish waters more than 60 kilometers from the coast of the Canary Islands. And it was the PP Government that authorized the surveys in 2011, since Spain was lagging behind with obvious economic consequences in the face of the avalanche of authorizations in the same area of ​​the Kingdom of Morocco.

Regarding the recently approved European Directive, 80% of the practices currently used by Repsol in extractions, not surveys, in Norway, the most advanced country in the world in environmental and safety systems in hydrocarbon extraction, with more than 40 years of activity along the entire coast of Norway without any mishap, are included.

In the elaboration of the European Directive, Repsol appears as one of the most important companies in advising on prevention systems and environmental measures in offshore oil extractions.

The European Directive affects and is mandatory for all hydrocarbon extraction authorizations that are given from now on and establishes a period of 5 years for the adaptation of those already authorized.

In Spain there is no new authorization for hydrocarbon extraction, and the possible ones that may be awarded to Repsol in waters of the State's exclusive economic zone could occur no earlier than 3 or 4 years, once the results are evaluated

of the surveys, regarding the quantity and quality that may be in the subsoil 60 km from the Canary coasts.

The European Directive obliges all Member States from the moment of its approval, even if it has not been transposed into specific Spanish legislation in this regard.

Who is not obliged to apply the European Directive is the Kingdom of Morocco, which, by the way, has granted some 80 offshore prospecting and extraction authorizations, in an area of ​​more than 80,000 km2 has authorized prospecting, not extraction, of 2 wells, in a total limited area of ​​about 6,000 km2 Community could not affect the Canary Islands?

For 40 years in the world there have been about 800 offshore hydrocarbon extraction wells, in areas of high tourist sensitivity such as California, Emirates, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela; the entire North Sea, the coast of Tarragona or northern Spain, and the only real incident has been that of Mexico, due to the improper use of a check valve, which is not the case anywhere else.

"The risks of serious accidents at sea related to oil or gas are significant", which you cite, refer mainly to those produced by ships, which, if it poses a real risk in the Canary Islands, where more than 3,000 ships circulate

with oil a year.

Finally, I want to confess to Ana Oramas that the only fear I have regarding the impact on our tourism industry is that Spain does not take advantage of this possible oil wealth, which could well allow the Kingdom of Morocco a structural, modern and spectacular development of its tourism offer, similar to that developed by the Arab Emirates, which would directly compete with the tourism offer of the Canary Islands.

In the hope that Mrs. Oramas will reflect, I strongly encourage her to inform herself, especially when the authorizations in progress are subject to public information, which any Spanish citizen has access to, including the only deputy of the Canarian Coalition

in Cortes.

Manuel Fernández

Deputy and Parliamentary Spokesperson for Industry and Energy of the Popular Party

of the Canary Islands.

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