THE END OF PARADISE: THE CANARY ISLAND TO BE TAPPED FOR OIL?

 

The geology and location of the Canary Islands make them some of the most beautiful sites on earth.  

They have pristine beaches and incredible mountains.  Wildlife here has a first class seat.  People build little roads through their properties, so that penguins can cross from island to island.

But the idyll could soon be over, if oil companies have their way. 

They say where there is fire, there is oil.  Built from volcanoes, some of them still partially active, the Canary Islands sit on a rockbed that could include large oil deposits.  

Already people are protesting the possible testing site, which is supposed to begin in 2014.  Most of the deposits are supposed to lie off shore.  But that actually could be more problematic than if they were inland.  

Canary Island activists are scrambling to organize a protest that would bring awareness of their plight to the international community.  They see the oil exploration and possible oil wells as a catastrophe that will undermine the very living conditions in the Canary Islands.  

If there were to be a spill, tourism could disappear for decades.  For the Canaries, that is akin to a slow death, since its autonomous regions relies almost entirely on the flourishing tourism trade.  

Many celebrities are joining the fight, including international film star Javier Bardem and his family. 

Repsol oil has addressed the protest with what they call an issue of economic sensibility.  They feel that the Canarians have been blindsided by the activists who are not letting them know of the potential riches to be had from the oil trade.  

In fact, they cite the crumbling Spanish economy, which has stagnated now for almost 5 years and seems to be unable to right itself. That alone, could ring the death knoll for the environmentalists.  The oil companies estimate the underwater petroleum reserves at a possible 900 million barrels, or up to 2.3 billion barrels on the high end of the estimate.  That Repsol says, could cover 10% of Spain's oil demand for 20 years.  

The island of Lanzarote however, is one of Unesco's biosphere reserves, which should at least offer some resistance to the oil exploration.

But with Spain ailing, the possibility of repulsing the oil exploration and the companies behind it, seems to be fading already. 

The only thing that could stop the actual oil rigs from being built, is finding that the oil pockets under the sea are actually much smaller than the lower estimate made by the oil companies. 

Partial Source : France 24/ 12.10.13