The company Portfuel, owned by the Algarve businessman Sousa Cintra, will not be entitled to compensation for having seen the Portuguese State unilaterally terminate oil prospecting and exploration contracts. Onshore (on land), in the Algarve.
According to Correio da Manhã, which broke the news this Monday, the arbitration court, which was constituted about a year and a half ago, rejected the company's claim to be indemnified in 5 million euros for the termination of contracts relating to two concessions, designated by Aljezur and Tavira.
The arbitration court, whose decision was cited by that national newspaper, concluded that Portfuel "had an obligation to establish and prove the constitution, from the beginning of the contractual relationship, of insurance contracts against the risks generically inherent to its activity and that it did not granted, in due course, that obligation'.
In other words, the court found that Portfuel did not comply with what was agreed, so the State had the right to terminate the contract.
In July 2016, and at a time when there was strong opposition to the scoops in Aljezur and Tavira by the most diverse sectors of the Algarve's society, the then Minister of Economy Manuel Caldeira Cabral spoke, in statements to the Sul Informação, in «serious faults», which would be reason enough to terminate the two contracts for prospecting and exploring for oil on land, in the Algarve.
“There was a contract made in the light of a tender, but not all the procedures were followed. That's what we're looking at legally. There are also doubts about whether the company to which it was granted even meets the required legal requirements. If you do not comply, this will have to be resolved, and this is the role of the current executive to correct a situation left by the previous Government», said Manuel Caldeira Cabral at the time.
In December of that year, the Government it ended up tearing up part of the agreements with private companies for the exploration of hydrocarbons, among which the one signed with the company of Sousa Cintra, supported by an opinion of the Attorney General's Office, which assured that there was "an "unambiguous" non-compliance by Portfuel, insofar as the company did not present proof of incorporation and maintenance liability insurance to which it was required'.
This was, moreover, the argument that ended up winning before the arbitral tribunal.
Also in July 2016, the mayors of the Algarve Chambers they had joined together to present a Provisional Provision, in order to stop the beginning of the prospecting work announced by some of the concessionaires, including the company from Sousa Cintra.
The totality of the arguments used in the action filed by the Algarve mayors was not revealed at the time it was handed over to Providência Cautelar, but it was confirmed that one of them was the fact that Portfuel, at the time, did not yet have 3 years of activity, a requirement of the law for the conclusion of these types of contracts.
Concessions for the exploration and exploitation of oil and natural gas in the Algarve, at sea and on land, have been contested for many years by living forces in the region, from municipalities to environmental associations, but also by business organizations and citizens, on an individual basis.
Within this wave of contestation turned out to be created, in 2015, the Algarve Free Oil Platform, which brings together several associations and turned out to be the most visible face of a fight that – until you see – ended about three months ago, with the withdrawal by the ENI/Galp consortium of the only concession still in force.
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