Environment Ministry can't force a gas company to perform EIA in Smilno

The Environment Ministry has no legal tools to force Alpine Oil and Gas (AOG) to carry out an environmental impact assessment before launching oil and gas research drills in Smilno (Prešov region), said minister László Sólymos on Tuesday. He added that he'd like to persuade the company to carry out the environmental impact assessment voluntarily. At the same time he plans to launch a ministerial inspection into the conditions of the geological research in Smilno. The company received a licence for the research of possible oil and gas reserves in the districts of Svidník, Medzilaborce and Snina (all in the Prešov region) ten years ago. A public initiative against the research emerged last year, however. Earlier this year, AOG asked the ministry for extending the research licence by another eight years, though it eventually received an extension for only five years. At the same time the area designated for research has shrunk by 88 percent. "More than 1,000 research drills have been carried out in Slovakia, though we have no information that they would have had caused any environmental damage. We were extending the licence also considering this experience," said Sólymos.