Aborted gas project wins €1billion damages from Spain

SPAIN’S government has agreed to pay out €1.35 billion euros in compensation to a Spanish firm working on an underwater gas-storage project that was suspected of causing minor earthquakes.

The project, known as Project Castor was aiming to store gas 1.7km under the Mediterranean Sea, ready to pipeline to Spain’s national network. Work was halted in September 2013, after 200 minor earth tremors were detected. At the time geologists and environmentalists blamed the gas injections for the shaking.

Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told the news conference, that the government has decided to “freeze the installations and ban the injection or storage of gas” at the facility but it would award contractors Escal €1.35 billion in compensation.