Canary Islands protest Spanish government's oil drilling approval‎

Lanzarote and Fuerteventura see their tourism-dependent economy threatened by plans for exploratory wells in Atlantic

Plans approved by the Spanish government this month to start prospecting for oil off the Canary Islands have triggered protests nationwide.

Despite large-scale opposition and the danger drilling presents to whales and other marine life that migrate through this part of the Atlantic, Madrid gave the go-ahead to the Spanish company Repsol to start exploration at nine locations, at depths between 1,500 and 3,000 metres, less than 60km off Lanzarote and Fuerteventura in the Canaries.

Spain currently imports about 80% of its energy. The industry, energy and tourism minister, José Manuel Soria, argues that it can no longer afford the luxury "of holding back business or wasting natural resources".

Estimates suggest substantial reserves in the area, sufficient to produce 100,000 barrels of crude a day, equivalent to one-tenth of national demand. Read More