“The regional council of Odemira approved unanimously to congratulate ENI/GALP for abandoning the prospection and exploration project for oil in Aljazur,” the regional council of Odemira said in a statement.

The consortium of Portuguese oil company Galp Energia and Italy’s ENI was set to start drilling off the southern Alentejo region’s coast between September and October.

GALP and ENI revealed their decision to abandon the project on 29 October, saying they regretted “the impossibility of assessing the potential of resources” in the Portuguese sea.

The regional council of Odemira said they had been against the project from the start and considered it “unacceptable.”

A number of environmental organisations, including Zero, have also congratulated the decision, saying it was a “crucial decision for a more sustainable future.”