Scots oil firm Cairn Energy could face a fresh battle in its plans to explore off Ibiza after the island’s government launched a new attempt to block projects.
Spain’s supreme court last month overturned a bid by the regional government to assert control over the environmentally sensitive waters around the islands were not the jurisdiction of the national authorities.
But now the regional government plans is to redraw management plans for the waters in a bid to reclaim control of the seas around Mallorca and Ibiza which have been targeted by oil companies.
Cairn is among the companies, including Repsol and Spectrum, looking at the region, with plans for a 3D seismic shoot in the waters around 53km off the Ibiza coast in the Gulf of Valencia.
The company declined to comment on the new move by the Balearics Government, but earlier this week Simon Thomson, chief executive of the oil firm, told Energy Voice that the company remained confident.
“In Spain as with Greenland and elsewhere we are there by invitation of the government,” he said.
“We are at an early stage application in the Gulf of Valencia to shoot some 3D seismic. We just need to go through the process with the government.
“I would hope that our track record of being a safe and successful operator speaks for itself.”
But the six-year campaign by the regional government to prevent oil exploration off the islands has won high profile backing from the island’s celebrity residents, spearheaded by DJ Carl Cox.
Tens of thousands of residents have signed a petition to oppose oil drilling off the island, while a selfie campaign featuring the likes of Kate Moss and Pete Tong has gathered significant support through social media.
Campaigners claim the drilling would jeopardise tourism on the UNESCO world heritage-listed island, which has become a popular destination for overseas visitors and expatriates.
A spokesman for the regional government’s environment ministry, which has opposed oil exploration plans around the island, said they were now looking to revise the 14 management plans which had been partially annulled by the supreme court last month.
The revisions should restore authority to the Balearic Islands’ government, he added.
The European Commission has approved extra protections to foster biodiversity of plants and wildlife in the waters around Spain, before the supreme court ruled that the management plans covering offshore areas were invalid.
Cairn said it was committed to avoiding working in a world heritage site.
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