Activitists Prepare to Battle BNK in Spain

A collection of environmental activist organizations are preparing to battle plans by BNK Petroleum Inc., for shale gas exploration and development in autonomous region of Cantabria in Northern Spain.

Ecologistas en Acción de Cantabria, Mortera Verde and ARCA, are amongst groups planning to make application to Spain's Ministry of Industry appealing against the granting of Arquetu exploration permit. They are concerned about the potential environmental impact on the  surrounding municipalities of San Vicente de la Barquera, Valdáliga, Rionansa, Tudanca, Udías, Cabezón de la Sal, Ruente, Cabuérniga y Los Tojos.

The group announced that they will proceed with additional actions, including the filing of an administrative dispute, should their initial overture to the Ministry be rejected.

In March, BNK announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Trofagas Hidrocarburos, S.L., had been granted an exploration permit by the Ministry of Industry to explore for natural gas on the Arquetu concession for a period of 6 years.  The permit, covering approximately 61,470 acres, included approval for the drilling of 4 wells.

BNK said that Trofogas Hidrocarburos S.L. was created to develop Spanish territory with a heavy research and development focus on hydrocarbons (gas in particular), and to obtain 6 explorations permits, totaling 386.191 hectares.

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