Since time immemorial, particularly under PN administrations, the closer we get to general elections the more does talk of oil exploration and even possible oil finds increase]

We saw this happen in recent years and we have long predicted that it will happen again during the forthcoming election campaign.

This is particularly so when our economy is in the doldrums and talking up the economy is no longer on the cards, since we are all still mired in a recession. The only way of lifting the morale of the gullible is through not-so-smart electoral talk of fresh and new oil prospects in our waters.

When the Libyan crisis had neared its conclusion, the PM had declared publicly that the issue over oil exploration in the waters between Libya and Malta will be raised with the Libyan authorities at the appropriate time.

He confirmed having had already broached the subject with the new Libyan government then but according to his own words they had not gone into detail at that stage.

He almost suggested that the PL was to blame when the gunboat incident had taken place between Libya and Malta. So much so that he had expressed the hope that the future will present us with an opportunity to redress, change and fix the situation that had been inherited.

Where the PM was somewhat rich was when he had stated that he expected to have an open friendly solution and not just discussions at a political level with a country that has found us shoulder to shoulder in difficult times.

Almost realising immediately that he might have over-reached himself, he had added that “this is not payback at all, but an injustice made years ago which we need to see remedied”.

He seems to have forgotten that the PN has been in government since 1987 and that oil exploration has been top of the agenda of most mixed commission meetings held since then; including Gonzi’s own last meeting with Gaddafi when the Arab Spring was already under way and he was busy going down in the history books as the last European leader to meet the Libyan dictator.

The diplomatic reply he was given by the Libyan TNC’s Mohammed Sayeh speaks for itself:

“Everything would be resolved on the basis of friendship and talks between professionals. Everything would be solved in a correct way… experts in this field would sit together and discuss the legal issues...”

Meanwhile, we have just learnt that a particular Turkish company, Genel Energy, has just announced that it was buying into oil and natural gas licences in Malta and Morocco for a combined $11.3m.

According to media reports, Genel Energy said it acquired a 75% stake in an offshore production sharing contract in Malta from a subsidiary of energy company MOG for an initial payment of $10m.

The area is reported to include four licence blocks off the coast of Malta near Libyan waters, an area where according to seismic surveys it seems that they have indicated the presence of natural resources.

Without prejudice to any positive developments that might be linked to this venture, we cannot leave certain aspects of the saga to go unnoticed. Mainly that:

• The new CEO of the company involved is none other than the former BP boss at the time of the Deepwater Horizon mega eco-disaster.

• As reported by the international media, after the critical mauling that he earned himself, his new job put him at the centre of a skirmish between the oil barons of Iraq and Kurdistan. The main reason for this discomfort and unrest is that since his company seems to be taking a big bet on Kurdistan as being the next big province for the oil industry, Iraq is reported to have threatened to cut ties with foreign oil companies if they violate Iraqi law and proceed with upstream work in the self-governing region. But to be more down to earth and realistic, Kurdistan is presently known to be close to completing a pipeline to Turkey that will enable its producers to bypass Iraq altogether.

• It is of marginal interest to us to find out how this will all end, but from an environmental perspective I find it hard to allow it to go unnoticed that while the Titanic disaster meant a life of shame for its CEO in spite of the 5m barrels of oil that had gushed into the Gulf of Mexico over the following three months, the man responsible for the biggest marine oil spill in history – an environmental catastrophe with effects that will be felt for many years – seems to have risen from the ashes and set his sights on Malta.

One of his most shameful quotes was when he has stated that the spillage of the Deepwater Horizon spill was tiny compared to the size of the ocean!

President Obama had been reported to have said the following words about him: “He wouldn’t be working for me after any of those statements!’

In an excellent piece in which geologist Peter Gatt had been interviewed in another section of the local media, he had remarked wryly that although they say that ‘oil and water’ do not mix, it could be the same of ‘oil and Malta’ although to be fair he had posed this as a question rather than a statement.

That all attempts have proved unsuccessful for almost half a century is puzzling and worrying indeed, particularly since not only have these efforts proved to be unsuccessful but often drilling initiatives have been frequently hampered by territorial disputes.

To quote the same source: “By and large the pattern has always been the same: High expectations, dashed mercilessly against the rocks by the cold light of reality.”

Will we strike black gold this time round, or will we be fooled and duped once again, in the run-up to the forthcoming general elections?

Only time will tell what really led to our failure as a country to secure any positive results so far; whether it was due to disputes or even interests on the local front to remain oil-import dependent!

We still need to establish why the last Maltese oil well was drilled 10 years ago or more...

While doing our best to go green, we cannot afford to continue staring into emptiness if we really happen to be sitting on a goldmine.

I am sure that the PL will be most proactive in this area if entrusted to govern.

Meanwhile, it is in the public interest to find out whether our Minister of Resources ever met Mr Tony Hayward and what has MRA’s real and effective role been in all this as resources regulator. Except to state that it was informed at the last minute about the former BP boss’ Malta oil deal and that a due diligence exercise was still under way.

We also await a government confirmation or denial whether it is true that Genel Energy had been fined some £1 million in 2010 by the UK Financial Services Authority on the basis of insider information during its merger with Heritage Oil. The latter interestingly being the same company holding the large eastern Areas 2 and 3 of Malta.

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www.leobrincat.com

Leo Brincat is the Shadow Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development & Climate Change