"If necessary, I'll put myself in front of the machines to prevent oil exploration" in the Algarve, announced Vítor Guerreiro, Mayor of São Brás de Alportel, during the clarification session on the exploration of hydrocarbons in the Algarve region, organized on saturday afternoon by Al-Portel Association in partnership with Algarve Free Oil Platform (PALP), Museu do Trajo, in that village.
This was really the biggest news of the session, which was attended by more than a hundred people, some of them standing, who wanted to have access to more information about this process, which has kept the population on the sidelines.
"With the 900 million euros that Mr. Partex says he has already invested in oil research in Portugal, without knowing when and if this investment will yield income, it would be possible to invest in renewable energies and with immediate profitability", guaranteed the mayor socialist.
Raquel Ponte, from PALP, said that the concern of the associations and entities that make up the Platform is not just about research and exploration on land (on shore), in the two large blocks known as 'Aljezur' and 'Tavira', which occupy more than half of the Algarve's territory, but also with exploration at sea (off shore), what should start next October. "There are also several concessions at sea and we are also against them, it is an issue that also causes us concern," he said.
The activist also referred to the argument, defended by former Environment Minister Jorge Moreira da Silva, in the recent parliamentary hearing on the subject, that the prospecting that will be carried out on land and has already advanced at sea “allows the country to get to know the richness of our mineral resources”.
“The problem that the former minister forgot to mention is that in the contracts there are confidentiality clauses, which guarantee that the concessionaires do not have to reveal to the public what they discover. There is a lot that may be being discovered and that may not be shared, cannot be used, because these gentlemen are the owners of the information», explained Raquel Ponte.
Manuel Vieira, also a member of the PALP, added that what the Platform wants “is not just to tear up contracts. There must be measures for sustainability, with the creation of cycle paths, electric car filling stations, among others».
Marlene Guerreiro, councilor of the City of São Brás, guaranteed that, in this municipality, "they are certain that the mayors are attentive and committed to this fight".
"In the end, the majority, if not consensual, was the feeling of opposition to an activity that not only entails tremendous risks for the generation of small profits, but also contradicts the ongoing evolution, as far as the energy paradigm is concerned", stressed Al -Portel on your Facebook page. A consensus that was evident, even after the untimely departure, barely 5 minutes after the beginning of the session, of a British man, who called himself "former oil industry worker" and considered what was being said as "nonsense" .
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