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.

Zero said the move announced on Monday was “one of the most important victories of the local environmental movement, regional and national, that motivated great consensus among tens of thousands of people, mayors and businesspeople.”

The association added that the “alerts made to the threat posed to the preservation of natural, social and economic values” was “evident” and congratulated Galp on a decision that would enable a “more sustainable future”

Galp and Eni refused to make any additional comments due to “diverse legal procedures.”

In a note released on Monday, Galp and Eni regretted “the impossibility of assessing the potential of resources” in the Portuguese sea.