Several companies are currently planning to explore for gas and oil in the Balearic Sea (Gulf of Valencia and Gulf of Lion).

This prospection involves areas of the Spanish coast: Balearic Islands, Community of Valencia and Catalonia. Currently in the exploration phase, Cairn Energy (though its subsidiary company Capricorn Spain Limited) plans to carry out sonic imaging (by the company Seabird Exploration), but environmentalists warn the sonic shocks used in seismic tests are a threat to marine life and will negatively impact fishery with some alleging that the impact could reduce fishing hauls by up to 70 percent. Meanwhile, there have also been allegations of faulty environmental impact studies performed between 2012 and 2013. Furthermore, another company (Spectrum Geo Limited) has requested a license to explore the Gulf of Lion and the southern strip of the Balearic Islands and oil exploitation by the Spanish company Repsol is already ongoing on the coast near Tarragona. Opposition to these projects has been widespread and the regional government of the Balearics, headed by Popular Party (PP) premier José Ramón Bauzá, opposes any plans to drill for oil offshore, as do all local councils. In Ibiza for example, which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site, up to 50 civil servants were assigned the task of collecting the thousands of letters sent in by locals showing their opposition to any drilling. The Alianza Mar Blava (Blue Sea Alliance) is an umbrella organisation gathering over 50 organizations of the island, including business, environmentalist groups, unions and fishermen, and aims to completely stop the investigation (and subsequent exploitation) of hydrocarbons off the west coast of Ibiza and Formentera in the gulf of Valencia. Its purpose is also to preserve the environmental richness that makes the Balearic Islands so unique, as well as safeguarding the employment and wellbeing of its residents and future generations. They argue that oil exploration represents a threat to the environment (coastline and wetlands), biodiversity (flora and fauna, including several cetaceans species) and the economy (tourist sector and fishing). As they say "tourism is our oil". Despite this, it seems that the federal government aims to move ahead with the exploration.

Location

Balearic Islands, Community of Valencia and Catalonia

Google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/ZpQjTWyiiks

Environmental impact

• Water pollution

Ethical/ legal issues

• A clean and prosperous environment and a safe and pleasant habitat

Information sources & materials

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