By James Bryce
ONE of Spain’s most important conservation zones is under threat after a gas company was granted permission to drill for gas in the area.
The site is on the border of Donana National Park in Andalucia, which is a key habitat for the endangered Iberian Lynx.
Petroleum Oil Gas-Espana has been given the go-ahead to analyse the soil to determine the potential profitability of gas extraction in the region.
The project, which could include the construction of an 18 kilometre-long gas pipe, moved a step closer to reality following the granting of a Declaration of Environmental Impact document.
“The foremost goal of this project is the production of natural gas, and the second goal is to later use the deposits as underground gas storage,” according to a government spokesman.
