Tourism in the Canary Islands is facing a new challenge following the last few years of economic crisis. Despite continued resistance to the plan, Repsol, the leading Spanish oil company, has just been given government approval to start prospecting in the waters surrounding the archipelago.
The Spanish government has given the green light to the project after it was stalled for over a decade by legal matters. Since 2001, the oil company was unable to begin drilling as local political forces on Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria contested the right for central government to make such far reaching decisions in an autonomous region of Spain.
Now the process has come one step closer to extracting oil from what is believed to be an area rich in petroleum, with a potential 110,000 barrels a day or 10% of national consumption waiting to be tapped into. It is hardly surprising that beleaguered Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, is keen to see the black gold flowing, as this will provide a significant injection to the Spanish economy.
The eastern most islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are those closest to the proposed drilling sites and both islands are almost entirely dependent on tourism for approximately 80% of their economic activity. Local environmentalists and politicians argue that oil prospecting and tourism are not natural bedfellows as it would only take one spill for the islands to see one of their main attractions ruined – the pristine beaches both possess.
In addition, the archipelago is also renowned for its clean waters and thriving sea life, as well as endeavours on several of the islands to produce electricity via renewable energy sources, such as geothermal, wind and solar installations. El Hierro, located to the west of Tenerife, is actually only generating its power requirements through wind and water with a hydroelectric turbine driven by giant windmills.
For their part, Repsol insist their safety record in Spain is unblemished, with over 260 tests carried out without any spills occurring. However, given that the sites where they intend to drill are in the middle of the ocean and at a depth of half a mile to the seabed, there is plenty of room for anxiety, given disasters such as huge spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
At present, there is still a Supreme Court ruling to get through, so even though the Spanish government have approved the plan, Repsol may yet find that they cannot go ahead with the proposal, which will be welcome news for residents and visitors to the Canaries alike.
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