Feb 19 – Government Says GSD Is “Obsessed With Sensationalising” LNG Risks
The Government says it notes the GSD’s “latest attempt at de-railing plans” for the new dual-fired power station and potential liquefied natural gas bunkering opportunities. The Government says that the original contract with Bouygues was for the design, build and all safety reports associated with the proposed power station. The Government says it is not in a position to be able to publish these reports at this time due to the commercially-sensitive information they contain, but their existence can be confirmed by its external, independent consultants.
Having received the results of these first safety reports, the Government says it has commissioned further highly-detailed checks and risk assessments to be carried out by specialist safety companies, named in yesterday’s press release. Engain is currently in Gibraltar and NACO is expected in Gibraltar in March to carry out further safety assessments.
The Government says it would like to remind Mr Feetham that all its consultants were named in our press release yesterday, and that he may like to take this into account before refusing point-blank to name his own sources when questioned on GBC, and then calling upon the Government to make commercially-sensitive information public. Number Six says that without the raw data provided by Bouygues’ original reports, Mr Feetham’s ‘experts’ could not be reasonably expected to draw accurate conclusions. At best, argues the Governemnt, these experts’ opinions must be based on “guess-work and rough estimates”. In this sense, it is Mr Feetham “acting irresponsibly by attempting to instigate a public panic with little or no evidentiary basis” according to the Government.
The GSD, says Number Six, “seem obsessed with sensationalizing” the risks involved with the bunkering of liquefied natural gas, despite having themselves acknowledged that this risk is extremely low: one in 10,000. Indeed, says the Government, Gibraltar’s economy is already heavily fuelled by the bunkering of diesel adding that the bunkering of liquefied natural gas is not only safer than the bunkering of diesel, but is also cleaner. This is the reason, says Number Six, why most major international bunkering ports are making the move to liquefied natural gas as the fuel of the future. In this sense, Gibraltar’s choice of a dual-fired power station, and the bunkering of liquefied natural gas, places it amongst the world’s innovators in this field, according to the Government, and the GSD’s obsession with diesel “reveals their inability to move forward.”
Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, said: "Mr Feetham is trying to cause panic in our community basing himself on the advice of experts he won't name, saying things that are demonstrably wrong. Better he digest the answers we have given in Parliament and press releases and refrain from continuing from making a fool of himself on these important subjects, on which the future power needs of our community depend. Already, Spanish news commentators are finding support for the anti-Gibraltar propositions of Snr Landaluce and his opposition to the new power station from Mr Feetham's own uninformed views. Our community deserves more responsible opposition."
