The announcement of an oil discovery in Morocco revived fears in the Spanish Canary Islands that Moroccan exploration would expand to include disputed areas in the waters between the two sides.
newspaper quoted “ElmondoThe Spanish company “Europe Oil & Gas” announced an important oil discovery in the Moroccan coasts of Agadir, which brought back to the fore the fears of the nationalists in the islands about Moroccan exploration.
The President of the Canary Islands, Angel Victor Torres, found himself in front of journalists’ questions regarding the dispute with Morocco over the maritime borders in conjunction with the Moroccan discovery in Agadir.
The Spanish official reassured that Morocco has embarked on oil exploration in its own waters, which do not affect the waters of the Canary Archipelago.
“The government of the Canary Islands categorically rejects any oil exploration in its waters,” he added, noting that “these explorations and studies were authorized by Morocco months or years ago.”
Torres insisted that these actions do not take place in Canarian waters, and called for compliance with international legality and for “absolute environmental security”.
The comment of the President of the Canary Islands came after the British company “European Oil & Gas” announced that it expected to extract more than 1,000 million barrels of oil in the Agadir Basin.
The British company obtained a Moroccan permission at the end of 2019 to explore the Agadir basin for a period of 25 years.
There is a dispute between Morocco and the islands over the demarcation of the maritime border.
Nationalists in the islands are suspicious of the exploration permits granted by Rabat to companies, and see that they include the territorial waters of the Canary.
There is concern in Madrid because Rabat granted some exploration licenses even before the reactivation of the working group between the two countries on the delimitation of marine areas on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, according to the newspaper.
It was a newspaperEl EspanolShe said that in 2019, Qatar Petroleum acquired 30% of the 75% stake of the Italian company Eni in its branch in Morocco, Eni Maroc, while the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals in Morocco retains a 25% share.
Qatar Petroleum entered into a partnership with Eni to explore the Atlantic coast of Tarfaya, located between the city of Agadir and the Western Desert.
The exploration permit extends over an area of more than 23,900 square kilometres, and includes geological and geophysical studies.
The newspaper points out that Tarfaya faces the island of Fuerteventura in the Canary, which raises fears among the islands’ authorities of exploration.
According to the newspaper, island officials fear that if oil or gas is found, the danger to the extended area of the islands will be environmental in the event of an accident.