Spanish petrochemical giant's prospecting off Canary Islands ends in failure

Spanish oil giant, Repsol, confirmed on Friday that it has ended its controversial prospecting for hydrocarbons off the Canary Islands in failure.

The test had caused enormous opposition in the Canary Islands, which are situated in the Atlantic Ocean off the West coast of Africa.

The islands are an important tourist destination, and the regional government even went as far as calling a referendum to find out whether inhabitants were in favor of Repsol's actions.

However, amid fears of possible ecological damage and the possible threat to the tourist industry, they were forced to call off the vote after the central government of Mariano Rajoy appealed to Spain's Constitutional Court against its legality and Repsol subsequently began explorations around 60 kilometers off the coast of Lanzarote.

Now however, it appears as if the worries of the Canary Islanders were unnecessary as Repsol issued a communique announcing the tests had ended without success, despite digging to a depth of over 2,000 meters below sea level.

"The analysis of the samples which we have obtained show there is gas ... but in neither the volume nor the quantity sufficient to consider future extraction," said the company, which will now abandon exploration in the region. Endit