09:33
Decision taken after Australis has renounced concession contracts
Portugal ended the exploitation of oil and gas. A decision made after Australis, the last company looking for hydrocarbons in the country, renounced concession contracts.
“No more contracts for prospecting and research for natural gas or oil will be awarded,” says an official source from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action (MAAC) to Jornal Económico, this Monday, September 7th.
It was on Friday that Público advanced that the Australis Oil & Gas Portugal company would give up looking for natural gas in the areas that were granted to it in Batalha and Pombal. These two concession contracts were the last that were still in force.
The Australian company has held the two concessions for the exploration of hydrocarbons in about 2,510 square kilometers of land since 2015, and for an eight-year period.
The decision to renounce the concessions was for the company “very disappointing”, claiming to have been “with few options” to proceed with the work. Australis also regretted, cited by Público, that it had not received “any support or assistance from the Government”, namely “in efforts to provide clear, concise and accurate information” to the population and municipal authorities about the operations that the company had in progress. The waiver will take effect from September 30.
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By Business
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