Projected oil refinery in Extremadura (Spain)
10.4.2006
WRITTEN QUESTION E-1721/06
by David Hammerstein Mintz (Verts/ALE)
to the Commission
In the Tierra de Barros district, an important agricultural area, the intention exists under an industrial plan to construct an oil refinery (the Balboa refinery), in a zone of the interior (Los Santos Maimona), far from any seaport where tankers could land. As a result, the oil would be supplied via a pipeline leading from the port of Huelva to the refinery, traversing more than 200 km before reaching Badajoz.
This project could affect the following protected areas: SCIs ES4310066, ES4310072, ES4310071 and ES4310050, as well as the Sierra Grande de Hornachos, which has been declared an SPA for birds and is home to endangered species such as Ciconia nigra and Lynx pardina, under Directives 79/409/EEC[1] and 92/43/EEC[2] respectively. Even if the project is not located in the SPA itself, both those species and the food chain could be affected by the chemical components of the fossil crude which the refinery would release (CO2, CO, SO2, NOx, pyrine, benzene, naphthalenes, dioxins, hyposoluble furans, cobalt, nickel, lead, zinc, particles, etc.).
The site of the refinery is surrounded by tertiary materials (conglomerates and sands) and is in the vicinity of quaternary alluvial units (rivers and brooks). These are characterised by a high degree of porosity, which creates vulnerability to pollution via filtration of the watercourses unless use is made of the best technology available for building tanks and creating an extensive water table network for the permanent monitoring and surveillance of the soils and groundwaters: there could be a breach here of Directive 80/68/EEC[3].
The combined effect of this petrochemical complex and the Balboa cement factory would be an irreversible deterioration of agriculture in the area, contributing to a build-up of harmful gases which would alter the atmospheric concentration, thus increasing the vulnerability of the harvests: this is suggested by environmental studies of the Mediterranean region, and there could be a breach of the air quality framework directive (Directive 96/62/EC)[4].
Is the Commission aware of this plan for an oil refinery in Extremadura? Is the EU providing public funds for projects of this nature? In view of the lack of transparency and the impossibility of obtaining environmental data on the project, is there a breach of the Aarhus Convention? Are Directives 85/337/EEC[5], 92/43/EEC, 79/409/EEC and 80/68/EEC being observed? Has this project received EUR 9 million in public funding from the Extremadura region? Is it compatible with the internal market and competition rules?
- [1] OJ L 103, 25.4.1979, p. 1.
- [2] OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.
- [3] OJ L 20, 26.1.1980, p. 43.
- [4] OJ L 296, 21.11.1996, p. 55.
- [5] OJ L 175, 5.7.1985, p. 40.
OJ C 328, 30/12/2006