Save the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

The Forest Oil Corporation: a ticking oil bomb over Bomba

2011-09-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

This excellent piece is taken from Sam Dunham, who so wonderfully writes the award-winning blog "Life in Abruzzo".

It has been sent out as a press release at this website and on Google News
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Ticking Oil Bomb over Bomba

Italy & Denver: Forest Oil Threat of Interfering with Nature in Abruzzo’s Chieti

Bomba, in the province of Chieti Abruzzo, is still threatened by the ticking time-bomb of oil exploration by Forest Oil Corporation, its ever-present threat wielded by the silent and still undecided Italian National and Abruzzo Regional governments; if the go-ahead is given to create refinery and oil wells as proposed in the seismically challenged lake that sits just a 2-minute drive from people’s homes the affect could be devastating.

This summer Bomba has seen its most successful season yet with large numbers of tourists visiting and staying at the town to enjoy its varied water-sports, mountain-biking, hiking and famous Abruzzesi food & hospitality, rewarding the monies and hard work which had been invested in growing a sustainable economy developed by local residents over the last 25 years.

The propitiatory offer of a €380,000 cheque to be presented to the local commune each year for the next 14 years was made by the Colorado-based Forest Oil Corporation, but local businesses and families rejected this offer. They understood all too well that the exchange of such “dirty money” for the use of their land and a contribution towards the reduction in their income from the fall in tourism from placement of oil wells, drilling and a refinery on Bomba’s doorstep was not an acceptable compromise or compensation.

They are hoping that the Regional Abruzzo and National Italian governments follow their wishes with a statement rejecting Forest Oil’s plans and these ‘available funds’ rather than perceive them as an easy autumn harvest bonanza which admittedly both mishandled economies sorely need.

There is a palpable sense of trepidation and dread in the town following the 3-month silence by politicians which has followed their stiff resistance to Forest Oil’s plan at a fierce meeting that was held in the town on June 5th 2011, as the result of a 2 year advocacy campaign by Bomba’s full-time 930 residents to stop Forest Oil’s plans in Abruzzo Italy.

The local community gathered together to express their anger directly to key Forest Oil management. That this US Oil Company has a history of drilling in the middle of a desert far away from residential properties and no previous experience or proposed emergency plans for drilling in a highly seismically challenged freshwater dam situated next to residential homes should even contemplate their proposed plans for Bomba is additional fuel to the fire.

The Italian Energy giant ENI had proposed a similar project in Bomba but declared such a project ‘unsafe’ due to the high level of seismic activity in the area which in 2009 saw a 6.3 Magnitude earthquake destroy the nearby capital city of the region, L’Aquila, along with its nearby villages with the result of 308 deaths. An indication how volatile the land is locally can be seen in the construction of the earthern dam with no cement/mortar used.

Already Forest Oil has admitted that setting up a refinery alone will exceed legal limits in pollutants but they believe that their proposed payment system would help sustain the health of future generations that are affected by such fall out, something that no local resident of Bomba believes can be verified or is worth the risk.

Bomba’s 930 residents now wait to hear if the attraction of a 14-year payment plan together with just a 10% drill tax revenue is a simple enough calculation for the Abruzzo and Italian government to undertake in rejecting short-term riches, respecting its peoples wishes and put an end to yet another US Oil Giant attempting to drill in Italy.

View the video below to hear the Forest Oil Corporation meeting with the town of Bomba & listen to Head of the NoOilAbruzzo Campaign Maria-Rita D’Orsogna explain in English why Italy is so attractive to international oil companies.

This article was written by LifeinAbruzzo.com on behalf of the NoOilAbruzzo campaign as a press release.

To the Forest Oil Corporation: maybe you can mess with Texas but you can't with Abruzzo

2011-06-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

Here is an Italian version of this story, aptly titled Yankee go home.

Here are pictures of Bomba, covered with No drilling signs

On June 5th 2011, a tiny Italian town, Bomba, Abruzzo, population 900 gave a lesson in environmental studies, civic participation and democracy to American Big Oil and its tentacles.

This time the public enemy was the Forest Oil Corporation of Denver, who was represented in Italy by Mr. John Klein and Mr. Giorgio Mazzenga.

Mr. Klein had flown in straight from Houston, Texas with a cohort of 17 other oil execs and Mr. Rene Bakker, from the Paques Corporation.

They probably thought all they had to do was tell these Italian peasants that their magnificent oil refinery was going to be a job boon, safe, beautiful and giving out a fragrant fresh spring smell.

It is not the first time oilmen try to convince us to let them drill Abruzzo.

After more than four years, we are angry and tired but determined not to let Big Oil kill everything we are and have. We have kicked out Mediterranean Oil and Gas, Petroceltic, ENI and all their fracking friends, sending them back to where they came from.

We are sure we will defeat the Forest Oil Corporation as well.

For the past 5 years the Forest Oil corporation of Denver had been trying to drill the town of Bomba, which lays at the feet of a beloved recreational lake, and to put a nasty refinery in the midst of our towns, in an area that is geologically fragile.

Bomba is highly seismic, it periodically experiences mudslides, the natural subsidence rate is high, and back in the 1960s the oil company ENI decided not to drill the same location because it was not safe.

Today people live off of tourism, farming and winemaking.

That is who we are. Oil does not belong to our tradition. Period.

The Forest Oil Corporation carried out their plans in secret. For many years American investors know more about this natural gas drilling project than residents. They had no intention whatsoever of seeking dialogue with the people, or else they would have told us back in 2006.

But they choose silence instead and went ahead with their plans. About two years ago we saw them engaged in preliminary drilling and testing, we saw them building waste pits 200 meters from town, we saw them with their trucks, all these foreigners coming to a place where they did not belong.

So we started digging and we uncovered the truth, which in these internet days is easy to do: they really wanted to drill us and build a desulfurization plant.

Although the people and most local mayors knew nothing, some higher-up politicians did, and chose to stay silent, either for personal gain or just because they lacked the courage to stand up to Big Oil from the USA.

Thus, most - but not all - of the permits had been given. It was late, but not too late for us to work on stopping the Forest Oil Corporation and to put pressure on these lackluster politicians, and boy did we.

It has been two years of protests, of rebuttals, of letter writing, of independent scientists trying to explain to people why drilling Bomba is a bad idea, of us nagging our politicians and uncovering their wrong-doings.

We debunked every false statement the Forest Oil Corporation claimed on their environmental impact report. The church spoke up against them, merchants and tourism operators, school children and canoeing associations.

We told everyone about the way they treated Mr. James Mc Allen, donating him their radioactive waste without telling him about it, and how he got cancer most likely thanks to the Forest Oil Corporation.

We all came together to say no these bullies who give America a bad name.

Finally, the Forest Oil Corporation had no choice: if they wanted to save their project they had to come out and try to assuage us in person.

That is how Mr. Klein flew in to Bomba, from Houston.

The entire town was covered in signs and pickets saying no to the Forest Oil Corporation. The townhall was packed with people who wanted nothing else but to be left alone and to be who they have been for generations.

We did not believe one word Mr. Klein and his friends had to say.

They had their own interpreters and spoke English to us.

What arrogance. You want to drill us and can't even speak Italian? They probably thought they could sugar-coat answers and try to manipulate the truth - which they did try.

Thankfully, people in the audience knew English better than their interpreter, and people demanded translations be accurate.

Finally, after a lot of give and take, the Forest Oil Corporation had to admit that this desulfurization plant was going to be the largest of its type on the planet, and that the only other comparable one was located in the ... Texas desert 500 miles from the nearest town!

Now, how can you possible compare the Texas desert with a sleepy Italian village tucked in a verdant valley and where the closest homes would be about 200 meters from the refinery? Did they even know that according to their own calculations, the plant's exhaust would be beyond legal limits and end up directly into peoples' home?

The Forest Oil Corporation tried to tell us that their methods were "natural" - and what exactly about oil drilling is natural? - but they were booed and people were upset. The mayors of Altino, Bomba, Pizzoferrato, Gessopalena, Torricella Peligna and Bomba itself said no.

Later the Forest Oil Corporation themselves had to admit that they had never experienced such strong opposition from the people in their 95 year history.

All of this from a tiny Italian village!

The people won. Our "maybe" higher-ups politicians have no choice but say the final no and they have already pledged to do so.

A party is planned on August 8th 2011.

Elsa 2 Petroceltic: down the drain!

2011-05-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

In yet another blow to the oil people from Ireland and the UK, and for Mr. Tom Bulford, the Italian Ministry for the Environment has denied approval to Elsa 2 as proposed by Petroceltic of Ireland.

Here is the news, the link to the Ministry's decision and a press release in Italian

Over the past year and a half, the Ministry had been inundated by phone calls, letters and environmental reports arguing against Elsa 2. We protested, marched and demanded actions be taken. Just as we have done for Ombrina Mare, we managed to get our point through to the authorities that may be.

We won.

Yesterday, May 23rd 2011, the Ministry finally came to the conclusion that we were right, and that it is pure folly to drill an oil rig just a few kilometers from the shores of Abruzzo and from a natural reserve.

Dear investors, as should be clear by now, Italy is not the place for oil drilling. We will keep fighting other oil rigs. We won't let you destroy this country.

To Mr. Tom Bulford

2011-05-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Sir, with all due respect, we believe the current ban that Italy passed against offshore drilling WILL NOT be lifted anytime soon. In fact, we are working hard for it to be tightened so that the entire Adriatic sea be closed to drilling. Italy is not Saudi Arabia. People live off their seas, their tourism, their fishing activities. We the people don't want to be drilled, not offshore, not onshore. So please do not mislead your investors. Italy will does not want you.

Ombrina Mare is dead, and so is Mediterranean Oil and Gas.

GO DRILL YOUR OWN BEACHES!

Here is Ola-Channel, by the filmmaker Vito l'Erario

La città sul mare che non vuole il petrolio from olachannel on Vimeo.

CityRumors

Lucio Dalla on La Repubblica

Protests on La Repubblica

Qui un servizio su Rai3

Il Corriere del Mezzogiorno - sit in favor of the Tremiti islands

News Gargano

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Tri-regional rally against offshore drilling in Italy

2011-05-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, May 7th 2011 the people from three regions - Abruzzo, Puglia, Molise, descended on the coastal city of Termoli to protest offshore drilling all along the Adriatic coast.

We have succesfully halted the drilling of Ombrina Mare, and we plan to stop in the same exact way Sound Oil, Northern petroleum, Petroceltic and all their friends.

Ombrina mare is just the first of our victories, dear investors.

Yesterday we have called upon Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo to ban offshore drilling in the entire Adriatic sea. Mayors, presidents of provinces, an estimated 300 organizations and 10,000 people came to support our love for our seas and the need to expand the current drilling ban from 12 miles to the entire sea, to protect all of Italy. Other rallies are planned for the rest of the summer.

In the meantime, some people dressed in gray suits from some London offices - aka Tom Bulford and his friends - have started speculations that the offshore drilling ban will soon be overturned, hence people should go ahead and buy shares from the moribund Mediterranean Oil and Gas or put their money in MOG's friend Sound Oil.

It is so funny for me to sit back and watch these people throw their money down the drain.

They don't have a clue. The poor investors who believe this nonsense are just gullible people from London, who can't even imagine all that is simmering in Italy and how much unity this is bringing us across the country.

They think we are greenies from Tuscany! They don't even have their geography right!

These London analysts, economists, stock market gurus or simpletons with time and money to waste, or whoever they profess to be have no clue that everyone is against offshore drilling along the Adriatic.

Our politicians - left and right - KNOW that allowing offshore drilling would be most unpopular and political suicide.

We simply will not let it go. Why do you think the ban was passed in the first place? These London "experts" say:

The ban on offshore oil development looks like an instant, panicky reaction to a popular news story rather than a considered reaction that took account of Italy’s energy needs and industrial policy – already the USA has started to repeal its ban on offshore drilling.

First of all, it was the worst enviromental disaster in US history and not a popular news story.
In California it is and will be off limits to drill 100 miles to sea. In Florida the ban is 125 miles from shore.

The ban was passed because of us, the people! Because we raised a stink against offshore drilling along our Italian beaches. You get it? Because we have no desire whatsover for you UK people to come over and destroy them. Capisc?

Mr. Guru says that Ombrina will supplement losses from Libya! Ha ha ha.

Are they on drugs? The output of Ombrina would have been PUNY! If ENI or Elf thought there was anything worthwhile they would have pulled it out back in 1980! This oil well is just for speculators like you, and will not change one iota the Italian energetic landscape. The politicians know this very well.

Furthermore, in September 2011, the National Coastal Park "Costa dei Trabocchi" will be officially inaugurated, making drilling around the Sound Oil, Petroceltic and MOG sites even more impossible.

To all the investors: just look at what you have in your hands today.

MOG told you they'd start drilling in 2008. It is now 2011.

The net worth of this company has plummeted.

Sergio Morandi was a failure.

MOG's oil rigs have been denied approval.

There are no plans to overturn the ban - despite what your London gurus say.

Ombrina WILL NOT be built, and we will die before you can even think of coming here and destroying our way of life. The same will happen for Sound Oil and all their sisters.

We are not greenies. We just love our sea. Get lost and go drill your own beaches.

Organizations against on and offshore drilling along the Adriatic coast:

Regione Puglia
Provincia di Campobasso
Provincia di Foggia
Provincia di Chieti
Provincia di Pescara
Comune di Foggia
Comune di Termoli (Campobasso)
Comune di Citta' Sant'Angelo (Pescara)
Comune di Vieste (Foggia)
Comune di Montesilvano (Pescara)
Comune di Roseto degli Abruzzi (Teramo)
Comune di Vasto (Chieti)
Comune di Giulianova (Teramo)
Comune di Peschici (Foggia)
Comune di San Salvo (Chieti)
Comune di Lanciano (Chieti)
Comune di Serracapriola (Foggia)
Comune di Tollo (Chieti)
Comune di Pineto (Teramo)
Comune di Carpino (Foggia)
Comune di Fossacesia (Chieti)
Comune di San Nicandro (Foggia)
Comune di Torricella Peligna (Chieti)
Comune di San Severo (Foggia)
Comune di Alba Adriatica (Teramo)
Comune di San Vito Chietino (Chieti)
Comune di Miglianico (Chieti)
Comune di Manfredonia (Foggia)
Comune di Rocca San Giovanni (Chieti)
Comune di Lucera (Foggia)
Comune di Treglio (Chieti)
Comune di Rodi Garganico (Foggia)
Comune di Vico del Gargano (Foggia)
Comune di Mattinata (Foggia)
Comune di Roccamontepiano (Chieti)
Comune di Altino (Chieti)
Comune di Bellante (Teramo)
Comune di Bomba (Chieti)
Comune di Canosa Sannita (Chieti)
Comune di Tornareccio (Chieti)
Comune di Torino di Sangro (Chieti)
Comune di Silvi Marina (Teramo)
Comune di Sant'Eusanio del Sangro
Comune di Mozzagrogna (Chieti)
Comune di Controguerra (Chieti)
Comune di Mosciano Sant'Angelo (Chieti)
Comune di Guardiagrele (Chieti)
Comune di Gessopalena (Chieti)
Comune di Frisa (Chieti)
Comune di Castellato (Teramo)
Comune di Castillenti (Teramo)
Comune di Francavilla al Mare (Chieti)
Comune di San Giovanni Teatino (Chieti)
Legambiente Italia
Assoturismo Abruzzo
Confesercenti Abruzzo
Confesercenti Puglia
Confcommercio (Foggia)
Confcommercio (Chieti)
Camera di Commercio (Foggia)
Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro - Puglia
Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro - Molise
Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro - Abruzzo
Italia Nostra - Pescara
Italia Nostra - Foggia
Greenpeace Italia
Touring Club Italiano
Vas Verdi Ambiente e Societa'
Guardie Ecologiche Volontarie - Parco di Montevecchia e Val Curone (Lecco)
Comitato Difesa di Chioggia - Chioggia (Venezia)
Le Cinque Isole - Tremiti (Foggia)
Il deposito dei sogni onlus - Pescara
Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori - Vasto (Chieti)
Club Alpino Italiano - Vasto (Chieti)
Adiconsum - Foggia
Verde Abruzzo Produttori Biologici - Chieti
Vastesi.com - Vasto (Chieti)
Arci - Vasto (Chieti)
Centro Turistico Giovanile - Bari
Centro Turistico Giovanile - Campania
Centro Turistico Giovanile - Puglia
Legambiente - Circolo Foggia
Legambiente - Circolo "Dai Colli all'Adige", Este (Padova)
Legambiente - Circolo Setta Samoggia Reno (Bologna)
Universita' degli Studi di Foggia
Ambiente e/è vita - Roma
Associazione Bed and Breakfast Parco Maiella Costa Trabocchi - Ortona (Chieti)
Rivista D'Abruzzo - Ortona (Chieti)
Associazione Molise-Europa - Termoli (Campobasso)
Marelibero Abruzzo - Pescara
Comitato Cittadini per l'Ambiente - Sasso Marconi e Marzabotto (Bologna)
Il Gargano Nuovo - Monte Sant'Angelo (Foggia)
Pro Natura Abruzzo - Castel di Sangro (L'Aquila)
Gargano Libero - Foggia
Link - Bari
Fare Verde - Conversano (Bari)
Azienda di Promozione Turistica - Bari
Azienda di Promozione Turistica - Taranto
Azienda di Promozione Turistica - Brindisi
Azienda di Promozione Turistica - Foggia
Azienda di Promozione Turistica - Lecce
Comitato Appennino Salute e Territorio - Loiano Monghidoro (Bologna)
San Vito Vela - San Vito Chietino (Chieti)
Animalisti Italiani - Lanciano (Chieti)
Consorzio Operatori Turistici "Cotug" - Rodi Garganico (Foggia)
Archeoclub - San Vito Marina (Chieti)
Cogecstre - Vasto (Chieti)
Acqua Aria Terra Molise - Campobasso
Consorizio Operatori Turistici Gargano Mare - Foggia
Parco nazionale del Gargano - Monte Sant'Angelo (Foggia)
Comunità del Parco - Ischitella (Foggia)
Comitato per la Tutela del Mare del Gargano - Foce Varano (Foggia)
Azienda Promozione Tursitica Provinciale - Foggia
Fondo Ambiente Italiano Foggia
Fondo Ambiente Italiano Vasto (Chieti)
WWF Abruzzo
WWF Molise
HabitatLab Onlus - Pescara
Circolo SEL - Foggia
Five Festival Sud System - Foggia
Marevivo - Roma
Comunicare Turismo - Foggia
Libera Scelta - Lettomanoppello (Chieti)
Slow Food - Foggia
Giovane Italia - Foggia
Associazione guide turistiche della Puglia - Foggia
Comitato Daunia e Gargano - Ischitella (Foggia)
Coordinamento Ciclabili Abruzzo Teramano - Teramo
Rimboschiamo Peschici - Peschici (Foggia)
Terra Nostra Onlus - Poggio Imperiale (Foggia)
Centro Studi Martella - Peschici (Foggia)
Argod - Sanicandro Garganico (Foggia)
Gruppo Archeologico Garganico S. Ferri - Vico del Gargano (Foggia)
Emergency - Foggia
CicloPazzi - Lanciano (Chieti)
Gruppo Archeologico di Terra d'Otranto - Otranto (Lecce)
Puntoeacapo - Roma
Comparto Biccari Zona 167 - Foggia
Unione Nazionale pro loco d'Italia - Foggia
Confederazione italiana sindacati lavoratori - Foggia
Associazione Punto di Stella - Peschici (Foggia)
Diario Montanaro - Monte Sant'Angelo (Foggia)
Liberta' di Parola - Ortona (Chieti)
Comitato Foggia Propositiva - Foggia
Unione generale del Lavoro - Foggia
Costambiente - Atessa (Chieti)
Gruppo Archeologico Dauno - Foggia
Garganistan Web- Foggia
Life in Abruzzo - Colledara (Teramo)
Fare Ambiente Puglia - Foggia
Associazione la Mejofauna - Isole Tremiti (Foggia)
Brancaleone - Roccamontepiano (Chieti)
Associazione Libera - Termoli (Campobasso)
Si energie rinnovabili, no petrolio - Monopoli (Bari)
No scorie Trisaia - Rotondella (Matera)
Organizzazione Lucana Ambientalista - Potenza
Task Force Ambientale (Teramo)
Stoppa la Piattaforma - Sciacca (Agrigento)
Gestione Partecipata del Territorio - Bomba (Chieti)
Comitato Abruzzese del Paesaggio (Pescara)
Libera associazioni nomi e numeri contro le mafie - Termoli (Campobasso)
Citta' Plurale - Matera
Manichini D'Ottone - Pescara
Associazione Culturale Carpino Folk Festival - Carpino (Foggia)
Le Colonne d'Ercole - Ortona (Chieti)
Marevivo - Bari
Osservatorio diplomatico internazionale -
Associazione Genitori di Vico del Gargano - Vico del Gargano (Foggia)
Istituto Scolastico Cesare de Titta - Lanciano (Chieti)
Movimento 5 Stelle - Rovigo
Nuovo Senso Civico - Lanciano (Chieti)
OLA Channel - Venosa (Potenza)
Lipu Puglia, Gravina di Laterza (Taranto)
Associazione le cinque isole - San Domino, Isole Tremiti (Foggia)
Cicolamici Fian - Foggia
World Activity Club - Vasto (Chieti)
Comunita' dei Padri Passionisti - Fossacesia (Chieti)
Consulta Giovanile del comune di Vasto - Vasto (Chieti)
Pro-loco Manfredonia (Foggia)
Lecceta di Torino di Sangro, Torino di Sangro -(Chieti)
Comunita' Francescana Miracolo Eucaristico - Lanciano (Chieti)
Comitato No Petrolio - Tollo (Chieti)
Costituente del Parco della Costa Teatina - Vasto (Chieti)
WWF Zona Frentana e Costa Teatina (Chieti)
Centro Turistico Giovanile "Egnatia" - Monopoli (Bari)
Comitato Abruzzese Difesa Beni Comuni - Tortoreto (Teramo)
Emergenza Ambiente Abruzzo - Pescara
Chietiscalo.it - Chieti
Giovani Democratici - Foggia
Comitato Natura Verde - Tollo (Chieti)
Abruzzo in Movimento - Ortona (Chieti)
Associazione Radicali Lucani - Potenza
Giacche Verdi Gruppo Gargano - Vico del Gargano (Foggia)
Associazione Tutela e Salute dell'Ambiente di Basilicata - Potenza
Valorizzazione delle Terre Pubbliche attraverso le Popolazioni Locali - Assergi (L'Aquila)
No all'Italia petrolizzata - Los Angeles (California)

Save Cahors from 3Legs Resources!

2011-04-16T20:42:00.001-07:00

This person is Mr. Peter Clutterbuck.

From Orca Exploration, trying to drill Abruzzo, Italy to 3Legs Resources, trying to drill Cahors, France

Shame on you!

The fight to save this planet from drilling itself to destruction is global. I wish everyone could educate him or herself on how destructive the oil and gas industries really are, and get going, for real, in a global activist effort to save what we are, and what is sacred to us as humans.

We don't know where to stop anymore. The power of the almighty dollar seems to leave nothing untouched.

Abruzzo is where I grew up, where I used to run through the vineyards, play with the leaves, get mud on my hands, check on my grandmother's chickens, bury my feet in the sand, come home blonder and smelling of salt as a kid, and smell the seasons to the fullest.

I no longer live there, but I have been fighting from so far away to save its waters and its land, just because it is the right thing to do and because I cannot accept it that people from who knows where can decide to change irreversibly a place that I love.

I have never been to Cahors, France. But when I learned that an oil company called 3Legs Resources wants to frack them, my heart went out to this similarly green region, tucked in the SouthWest of France, where they make wine, where they have castles and a history and traditions that don't include drilling for gas.

The people from 3 Legs Resources have never been to Cahors either, I am guessing.

Or maybe they went there on some buisness trip. Who knows. But these middle aged white men who make decisions for Cahors are all outsiders. They come from the Island of Man, UK. Their people have worked for Encana, for ConocoPhillips, they fracked in Poland, they fracked in Germany, Barnett Shale in Texas and Niobrara, destroying those places in the US.

What do they know and care for Cahors?

One of the CEOs of 3 Legs resources, Peter Clutterbuck, used to work for Orca Exploration, a minor oil company. I know them because they were partners of Petroceltic of Ireland who wanted to drill Abruzzo. Apparently he left Orca in 2010.

These people are like weeds. They go to a place, try to drill and destroy and then they move on to the next target. No cares at all for the people of Abruzzo, for the people of Cahors, for the people anywhere period.

To our friends in France: don't believe them!

Fracking WILL pollute your groundwater.
The laws of Physics are clear.
Once you mix polluted and fresh water it cannot be undone.
You have nothing to gain from fracking your land.

We kicked them out of Abruzzo, we forced our tepid politicians to pass laws to protect our oceans and even sent Mediterranean Oil and Gas, another tiny UK company, back where it came from.

If we could do it in Italy - with our incompetent prime minister - you can do it too.

All the best to Cahors from Abruzzo.

MOG is sinking fast!

2011-03-06T20:29:00.001-08:00

Oil rig and FPSO. MOG wanted to build these beautiful objects 3.5 miles from the Abruzzo coast. Shame on you!

This is hilarious - the people at Mediterranean Oil and Gas can't do simple math!

Back in June 2010, the Italian government passed a law, according to which ALL and ANY oil rig planned within 5 miles from shore, all around Italy, will not be allowed. The ban increases to 12 miles, in the proximity of Coastal or Marine parks.

MOG wants to drill their Ombrina Mare rig off the coast of Abruzzo, complete with an FPSO, an oil processing and storage ship, about 5 kilometers from shore with a mini-desulfurization facility on top of it. The area is close to the Parco Nazionale della costa Teatina and well within the 12 and 5 mile border designated by the law.

The law was passed in the aftermath of the Gulf of Mexico disaster, but also thanks to Italians protesting their government to better protect our waters.

Despite all this, MOG doesn't seem to understand and keeps thinking they can still get away with it. Maybe I have to tell them:

Dear sirs at MOG: 5 miles = 8 kilometers, and that is larger than the 5 kilometers of your oil rigs!
It is crystal clear.

What part of YOUR DRILLING IS ILLEGAL do you not understand?

The people of Abruzzo have spoken, protested and forced their politicians to say no. To this day noone supports the drilling of Ombrina Mare, except those who have vested interests in its construction.

So what business does MOG have, a British company, to still push their agenda?

GIVE IT UP - WE DON'T WANT YOU HERE!
COUNT YOUR LOSSES AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!

I know what their problem is, they are about to go bankrupt!

Today an article by Andre Lamberti, in Proactive Investors UK states that MOG is considering a "sale of the company" or the "divestment of certain assets", as suggested by their CIBC consultants, who obviously have no knowledge of Abruzzo, nor do they care.

To them, it is just about money, assets, speculation, drilling, a far away land on a map. To us, it is the beach we go to in the summertime, where the memories of our youth are and that we want to give to the next generation - oil rig free - thank you very much.

According to the same article, the ban has "materially impaired" MOG's ability to raise further funds required to develop its assets, as well as to meet working capital requirements.

They also are asking their loan repayments to be extended past the deadline of September 2011.

In other words: we are driving them bankrupt! They thought they could come here and do as they pleased? You obviously do not know who you are dealing with, sirs!

They continue:

“Negotiations with potential investors are on-going and the company is hopeful that one of the current opportunities will resolve the company's financial position satisfactorily. There can be no certainty that these discussions will result in a satisfactory outcome".

They know it too that they cannot win.

"The company intends to challenge any assessment that the Decree is applicable to Ombrina Mare"

Yeah right - who do you think you are kidding - you are penniless!

Dear Mr. Investor, do the right thing - take your money and run - it is good for your conscience, it is good for your wallet.

MOG is lying to you!

2010-10-19T00:46:00.000-07:00

Dear CIBC,

I came across your ad for the sale of Ombrina Mare by MOG. In your ad you FAIL to mention that Ombrina Mare has been declined environmental clearance from the Italian government on October 7th as reported by the Italian media.

I think this information should be disclosed to your investors, and to potential buyers.

This information is all over the Italian news and it is unethical for you not to disclose it.

Ombrina Mare was not approved and will not be developed under current legislation, since it sits well within the 5 mile no-drill zone designated by the Italian ministry of the environment.

Sincerely,

Maria R D'Orsogna

Newspaper reports 1

Newspaper reports 2

Newspaper reports 3

Newspaper reports 4

Newspaper reports 5

Ombrina Mare - RIP

2010-10-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

Finally, after MOG declaring that it is close to being broke, another piece of great news.

Ombrina Mare has failed to get clearance from the Committee on Environmental Impact Reviews.

This means the drilling of Ombrina Mare has been officially denied by Italian authorities.

I never thought this would happen, given the level of corruption Italy is notorious for. But we hammered them and protested and wrote and marched as if there was no tomorrow, so that they HAD to stop this project. I am so proud of this victory. In principle, it was Ms. Prestigiacomo's ban that stopped Ombrina. I know it was because of opposition from us the people. Had we been complacent, the project would have gone forward. So kudos to all of us activists.

We will keep closely monitoring the situation, but for now, condolences to Mr. Sergio Morandi, to Mr. Micheal Bonte-Friedheim and to all of MOG's investors.

I had warned you that this was a loosing business investment.

Elsa and Petroceltic, you are next.

MOG is almost broke!

2010-10-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

The news we have all been waiting for is finally here. Mediterranean Oil and Gas is counting its pennies!

The Abruzzo people recall the CEO Sergio Morandi going on TV in April 2010 telling us that they were going to start drilling in June. Instead, the hundreds of letters of opposition to the Ministry, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, our protests and Ms. Prestigiacomo's ban on offshore drilling have stopped all of Morandi's grandiose dreams of turning a small oil company into a medium sized one, as MOG boasts on their internal documents and website.

On Spetember 30 2010 indeed MOG announced that it may

seek a sale of assets or the company if funding dries up in the wake of Italy's ban on near-shore drilling.

This is nice talk to tell their investors they are bankrupt and need to sell. This is also nice talk to say the people won, because the ban was imposed not only in response to the oil spill, but also because of so many protests, marches, letters, and communities rising in Abruzzo and Italy against offshore drilling so close to coast.

MOG lost about 5 million euros in six months, compared to 2.5 million in all of 2009.
Their revenue is halved. They claim their reserves from Ombrina Mare are double what they previously estimated but this is a moot point. Why?

BECAUSE WE WILL NOT ALLOW DRILLING OUR WATERS, WHETHER IT IS MOG PETROCELTIC OR ANY OIL COMPANY.

JUST LEAVE US ALONE!

Of course the chairman Michael Bonte-Friedheim is trying to gloss over the truth: he says that

the Italian decree in June banning exploration and production within five miles of the coast had resulted in uncertainty around development of the Ombrina Mare oil and gas field, the group's principal asset.

Sirs, it is not "uncertain", it is ILLEGAL. Do you understand what this means? You can't do it without breaking the law.

The press reports that MOG is experiencing a material adverse effect on its ability to access further funding. Of course, who would want to put their money into an outlawed operation that is also hated by virtually all local residents?

Who would be so foolish Mr. Morandi, Mr Bonte-Friedheim?

Come on, you certainly don't think that people are that stupid! I bet that you yourselves would not invest in such a loosing endeavor!

Count your losses and leave. We don't want you here. Thank you very much - now just disappear.

The ban is official

2010-08-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

An FPSO unit similiar to the one oilmen want to build along the Abruzzo coast.
Go drill Ireland!

Dear Mr. Brian O'Cathain of Petroceltic,
Dear Mr. Sergio Morandi of Mediterranean Oil and Gas,
and FYI to Mr. Craig Clark of Forest Oil Corporation

The ban is official!

Starting from today it is illegal in Italy to drill any of your unwanted oil rigs within 5 miles from shore anywhere along the coast, and within 12 miles close to Natural marine reserves.

AS OF TODAY ELSA2 AND OMBRINA MARE ARE OUTLAWED.

Today, August 26th 2010, the law presented by the Minister for the Environment, Stefania Prestigiacomo, comes into effect. The law was proposed after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and because of huge negative popular sentiment against offshore drilling all over the country. Our efforts to stop you and save Abruzzo have played no small part in this effort. The battle is not over and we will keep hounding you until you go back where you came from and where you belong. We will not let you play games with us.

Your ill-conceived plans of drilling us at 2 or 3 miles from shore are history.

Your plans of placing a fire-spitting processing unit - a permanent ship meant to desulfurize sour crude oil, complete of incineration unit that alone would have spewed 800 tons of petroleum waste a day - are history.

Just gracefully give it up and leave us alone.
We don't want you here.

Bomba vs. The Forest Oil Corporation

2010-08-11T07:23:00.001-07:00

I went to give one of my 'Don't drill Abruzzo' talks the other day in Bomba - population 920 in the wintertime and about 2000 in the summer.

I am so proud of Abruzzo, I am so pround of Bomba. The Forest Oil Corporation of Denver thought that we were just a bunch of ignorant farmers. They thought that we would not fight
their plans to turn us into an oil and gas field. They thought that the promise of puny gas discounts was going to appease us, the people.

They were wrong. They were dead wrong.

I met the most excellent people in Bomba - biologists, geologists and chemists who may live far from Bomba, but who got together in November 2009 and dubunked the entire environmental statement report submitted by the Forest Oil Corporation, headed by Mr. Craig Clark. I also sent in my own review. About 200 people sent letters of opposition to the offices who are supposed to evaluate and approve or reject this plan. We all said no.

What the Forest Oil Corporation wants to do is crazy. There is a fragile dam in Bomba that was built in the 1950s on land that is so geologically unstable, it could not be made in cement. They had to use dirt sloped at a 45 degree angle. There are mudslides all the time, the land is highly seismic. ENI gave up drilling because of subsidence dangers and fears.

It is the craziest place to drill for natural gas.

The Forest Oil Corporation of Denver not only wants to drill several wells about 500 feet from town, they also want to build a refinery. The gas they will extract is sour, full of hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas that smells of rotten eggs and that at high enough dosages is lethal. The refinery is meant to separate natural gas, mostly methane, from the rest, including H2S.

The rest will go into people's home.

The Forest Oil corporation themselves wrote in their environmental statement that they will exceed legal limits for pollutants. The Forest Oil corporation themselves wrote that winds are such that emissions from the refinery they intend to build will hit the center of town. Everyday for the next 12 years at least. People know this already, because about one year ago the Forest Oil Corporation of Denver was testing their wells and lit an enormous flame that released rotten odor gas that permeated town for three days. People also heard a loud noise and slight tremors.

The Forest Oil Corporation already built a large toxic waste pit, to be filled with all their drilling muds and garbage that comes from underground.

Shameless.

Mr. Craig Clerk of the Forest Oil Corporation, Mr. Brian O'Cathain of Petroceltic, Mr. Sergio Morandi of Medoil and Gas.

Once more.
The entire region of Abruzzo will not let you turn this place into an oil field.
We don't want you here.
Please leave us alone.
If you really must drill, go drill your own communities.

Daily Finance

2010-07-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

Today our story is featured on the Daily Finance.

To readers of the Daily Finance, my Italian blog is here. This is how I have been communicating with Italians, on a day to day basis. Most of this battle has been conducted by educating the people about what drilling really means. On occasions I travel to Italy to give talks and try to answer all possible questions. I have been hopping from town to town and had the most heartwarming experiences, from people who were told 'it is just a little stick in the sea', or 'it is not a refinery, just an olive oil processing center'. I have also lobbied hard with the Catholic church to take a stand, with local polticians, with all and any who would listen. So far no oil project has been completed in Abruzzo, and I will not stop until the end.
I have been doing this for the past three years, from my Santa Monica home. The fact that Abruzzo is a community of farmers and fishermen does not mean Big Oil can come and do as they please.
If I can do it from a half a world away, anyone can.

Thanks to Lauren for picking up this story.

To PCI investors

2010-07-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

"As I understand it, Petroceltic were assured by the Italian Ministry of energy that there were no problems with the issue of permits prior to Petroceltic entering into contractual obligations with others."

NOT TRUE. The Ministry does not assure anything. You think this is a private affair between Petroceltic and the Ministry? The law says that there are 60 days in which people can express their opinions. Well, we the people, including the Catholic church, winemakers, tourism operators, etc etc, we all expressed our opposition. The Ministry cannot ignore us, it is the law.

Who will compensate those companies affected?

When you drill, invest and play dice, there is something called risk. Simply, this was and will be a bad investment for Petroceltic. No one compensates you when you gamble and lose.

"The only concrete news regarding Italy is that they have made a request. To my logic, if a request is made the respondent has the option to say no. And until we know otherwise that might well be the case. Agreed there are mitigating circumstances that were unforeseen when the inital agreement was made."

Yes they made a request, and the people of Abruzzo came back with protests, letters to the Ministry, and marches. There never was an initial agreement. Petroceltic NEVER had permission to drill. They thought it would be easy and that their permits would be rubber stamped, but they left out the most important ingredient: us the people.

All those dates they give you, October 31st, July 1st is just blabber. They have no clue, because we the people don't want their rigs. It has been going on for months.
No is no is no. Another rally will occur on July 25th to protest Petroceltic and MOG.

Abruzzo against Petroceltic and Mediterranean Oil and Gas

2010-07-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

Mr. Sergio Morandi and Mr. Brian O' Cathain, those gentlemen at Petroceltic and at Mediterranean Oil and Gas keep writing corporate-speak press releases about how nice they are to the people of Abruzzo and how they will drill us in an 'environmental' way. They even discuss their plans on how to bypass the new law passed by the Minister for the Environment, Stefania Prestigiacomo, to stop drilling within 12 miles of natural reserves and within 5 miles everywhere else.

From Dublin and London, they even use the word 'eco-drilling'; as if such a thing existed. Well, we are not going to let them insult our intelligence, nor drill our beaches. Here are a few videos of one of many marches and protests over the past few months to say NO to Petroceltic, MOG, Orca, Northern Petroleum, and to the Forest Oil Corporation. These are from May 30, 2010, in the town of Lanciano.

All major politicians have said NO to this project, including the president of the province and the coastal mayors of Abruzzo. Even the bishop said it is immoral to drill our waters!

We have been fighting big oil for the past 3 years. ENI - the seventh largest oil company in the world - packed up and left. Sirs, we are not going to let you destroy us.

GO DRILL YOUR OWN BEACHES!!

Bye Bye Ombrina Mare! Bye Bye Elsa!

2010-07-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

Ha Ha Ha. Petroceltic just released this press release. They say the oil is 34 API and that they were supposed to start drilling in Q4 2010. What a joke. All over Abruzzo the API index is about 11/12. Just go look up what RospoMare has, and what ENI found on the proposed Miglianico oil field.
Heavy sour. So much so they needed a desulfurization plant.

Mr. O'Cathain, CEO of Petroceltic, DOES NOT EVEN KNOW HOW TO SPELL ABRUZZO RIGHT. Sir, shame on you. There has been no partnership whatsoever and to this day NOBODY wants you here.

Good news for Abruzzo, good news for Italians. Not so good news for oilmen and their investors.

Due to pressure from citizen groups, and due to the disaster that BP has made out of the gulf of Mexico, yesterday June 30 2010, the Italian minister for the environment, Stefania Prestigiacomo, announced that all drilling permits will be suspended sine die and retroactively for all drilling plans within 5 miles from the coast, about 9.2 km. In the case of natural reserves, the limit is extended to 12 miles, about 22 km.

This means that both Elsa and Ombrina Mare, as proposed by Petroceltic and Mediterranean Oil and Gas ARE OUT, since they are well within 9km from shore. Both are at about 5km or 6km from the coast. Both are right in front of the Parco Nazionale della costa dei Trabocchi.

We will keep monitoring and following the situation, since the news just came out yesterday.

But for now: Dear Petroceltic, Dear MOG: take your rigs, your FSPO, your dreams of becoming big players by exploiting the people of Abruzzo, take your oil plans and go hide yourselves!

It is sad that the gulf of Mexico had to turn into the mess it is, for our minister to come to this decision, but it is better than nothing.

Have a nice summer Mr. Sergio Morandi, have a nice summer Mr. Brian O'Cathain.

The lies of Petroceltic regarding Elsa

2010-06-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

Petroceltic International, a Dublin based company who is bulling its way around Italian lawmakers, is now trying to play nice and pass the message that their drilling plans are safe.

Hmmh. Reminds me of their BP friends. They even have a pretty "local community" website, where they fall short of telling us that they are the saviors of humanity. Of course, they are just oilmen who want to get their way, regardless of what us locals have got to say. Shame on them and all their friends - Mediterranean Oil and Gas, Forest Oil Corporation, Cygam Gas, Orca Exploration Group, Puma, Northern Petroleum and all the other oil companies that want to come drill Abruzzo, and Italy. This is not the place to search for oil.

I am an independent physicist, who reviewed Petroceltic's environmental statement on behalf of the Province of Chieti, and sent it to the Ministry of the Environment. It was crap. There was no risk assessment, no emergency plan, no simulations of pollutants in the water, in the air. They will not even tell us what garbage they will pollute our waters with. They repeatedly assured the Ministry (not the people!) that their drilling will have little to none environmental impacts.

We don't believe a single word they say, and remind Petroceltic that to this day NO ONE
in Abruzzo wants them, their oil rigs, their tankers, their lies.

Petroceltic is not welcome in Abruzzo. And this is not just my feeling but that of the Catholic Church, the Union of Winemakers, of Tourism operators, the Union of Merchants, the Province of Chieti, all municipalities along the Abruzzo coast, fishermen, professors, sports and cultural associations. To this day in Abruzzo NO ONE supports offshore drilling.

TO PETROCELTIC: WE DON'T WANT YOU HERE
GO DRILL THE BEACHES OF IRELAND

In their fancy Q&A website they say:

Q: How can local communities be sure a disaster like the one in the Gulf of Mexico, does not happen off the coast of Abruzzo?

Petroceltic: There are important differences between the circumstances in relation to deep water oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and the planned drilling operations near Abruzzo on the Adriatic Coast. The Elsa Field contains low pressure oil which is not capable of flowing naturally. A pump is required to bring oil to the surface. In contrast the deep water fields in the Gulf of Mexico are high pressure, meaning oil will naturally flow to the surface if left unchecked.

Furthermore, these wells in the Gulf of Mexico are at a depth of over 1.5 km from the surface. This requires a floating rig which means that the Blow Out Preventor (BOP) is located on the seabed, so containment of any problem has to be done remotely and is therefore much harder. In contrast, the rig for the Elsa 2 well would stand on the seabed in just 33 m of water. With this configuration the BOP is on the rig with a simpler control system which is accessible for repair or maintenance at all times.

Maria: Dear Sirs: in the Gulf of Mexico everyone said that drilling was safe, and that nothing bad was ever going to happen. The truth is that ONE CAN NEVER BE SURE about drilling, and that it is best to avoid such operations in such close proximity to shore. What if things went wrong even for a shorter period of time than in the gulf? Our way of life will be destroyed. We gain nothing with your wells and just increase the risk of ruining our beaches. Have you ever heard of the Santa Barbara oil spill? Of the Montara oil spill? Of the piattaforma Paguro? Of Trecate? Do you know that here in SoCal we have had no new offshore drilling for the past 40 years? There surely must be a reason. Funny, your oil does not float? What it defies the laws of physics? Petroceltic, you lost 6 million pounds in 2009. You won't have the resources to even begin a minor scale clean up, let alone a devastating one!

Q: I understand that Petroceltic is going to be drilling for oil in the Adriatic Sea. Is this confirmed?

Petroceltic: It is subject to a permit being granted by the Ministry of the Environment. The permit process requires a full assessment of potential impacts on the environment. A decision on this will be made in Q2 2010. This will allow Petroceltic to undertake exploration but not production.

Maria: Yes, and about 100 letters of opposition were sent to the Ministry of the Enviroment. Concerns were expressed by all political parties, the Catholic Church and dozens of citizens and activist groups. Never before has the Ministry been inundated with so many letters and statements of opposition. We simply do not want you here. Your plan also called for a permit to drill permanently, in case it was approved. Did you forget the words you yourselves wrote in your own environmental statements?

Q: If the process is approved when will drilling start?

Petroceltic:

An exploration well will be drilled in early autumn 2010, subject to permit approval from the Ministry of the Environment. This drilling phase will last approximately four months.

Maria: There is something called the Aarhus treaty, according to which local populations have the right to voice their concerns, and according to which their opinion is binding. If necessary, we will take this to the European courts. Your arrogance is disturbing, sirs, given you are an Irish company that knows nothing of Abruzzo.

Q: How will the drilling occur? Is there an oil rig?

Petroceltic: Yes there will be an oil rig (known as a drilling rig) on site for approximately four months. It will be located seven kilometers from the coast and will be visible as a small object on the horizon.

Maria: Oh really. And after that? Your plan is to drill us for at least 20 years. We don't want that. It will not be a small object, sirs. You obviously don't know anything about the local geography. On clear days you can even see the Tremiti islands, 80km away. The rig will be clearly visible, as will all the oil tankers and other on shore logistics operations you will need.

Q: Will this rig be visible from the beach?

Petroceltic:

It is seven kilometres from the shore – so it will be visible as a small object on the horizon.

Maria: That is your story , sirs. I know every nook and cranny of those beaches, and I tell you, your rigs and that of the others, including Mediterranean Oil and Gas, will be ahuge eyesore to us, not to mention all the junk they will pollute our waters with.

Q: There has been a lot of local opposition to this project. Will this be damaging to the environment?

Petroceltic: We have carried out a full environmental impact assessment and any effects will be very small. We will be using the Eco-Drilling Approach to minimize the impact of operations on the natural environment. This includes ensuring that no waste from the drilling process (such as rock cuttings) will be released in the sea and that robust systems are in place to prevent the accidental release of any oil

Maria: As said above your environmental report was crap. It was just talk, and not conducted at all in a scientific manner. Eco-drilling? Gimme a break. There is no such thing!!!! We all know that not even BP writes serious environmental impact statements, how can we trust you, a minor, penniless company? You did not even know that there are TWO fishing sanctuaries paid for by the European taxpayer within your lease!!! The whole world knows that ALL oil operations involve waste being thrown in the water. Even the Norwegian government acknowledges as much, on their official websites.

Q: What are you doing to alleviate local concerns?

Petroceltic: We have created this website to be transparent about our plans and to answer any questions that people have. We will also be meeting with interested parties to talk them through the project.

Maria: A little too late. Sirs, the time for websites is way past. To alleviate local concerns, all you really have to do is pack up and leave. What part of WE DON'T WANT YOU HERE don't you understand? And exactly what "interested parties" are you referring to? No mayor, no business wants you. Capisc?

Q: What is the risk of an oil spill?

Petroceltic: The risk of an oil spill is negligible as there are control systems in place to stop this happening. Furthermore, the oil well is low pressure – meaning oil will only come to the surface if pumped.

Maria: Yes, that is what BP - your buddies from the UK - told us in the gulf as well. We are smarter than that, thank you very much.

Q: If there is an earthquake what will happen to the rig and the oil?

Petroceltic: The rig is designed to withstand an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5. If there was an earthquake all operations would be shut down according to well practiced emergency procedures.

Maria: Oh really. There was no mention of this in your environmental statement. And what if it is a magnitude 6 earthquake? And what if your emergency procedures failed? Do you know that in Basel the head of a drilling company is facing jail charges for causing earthquakes after drilling a rig in town for geothermal purposes?

Q: Can the drilling process cause an earthquake?

Petroceltic: Drilling does not cause earthquakes.

Maria: Ever heard of induced seismicity? Ever heard of Basel? Ever heard of Cleburne? Ever heard of Gasli? Abruzzo is already a highly seismic area, we don't need more risks than what God already gave us, thank you.

Q: Is there definitely quality oil in this area?

Petroceltic: Petroceltic believes that there may be commercially viable oil at Elsa 2. This cannot be confirmed until the analysis from the exploration phase is complete.

Maria: The oil Abruzzo holds is junk. It ranks very low on the API scale. Vasto has 11 API, Miglianico has 12 API. Elsa will not be much different. The lowest you can get on the API scale is 8 (= the Tar sands of Canada). Texas has 40. So, our oil is very poor quality, it is heavy sour oil. The best you can get is light sweet crude. Abruzzo oil is the bottom of the barrel, as ENI officials told me in a public debate. They never had the courage to debate us again.

Q: What impact will this have on tourism?

Petroceltic: We don't believe it will have any effect on tourism. The oil rig will be barely visible from the shore – so tourists may not even notice it. If we get the permit then activity will start in the autumn – outside the peak tourism period.

Maria: That is your misguided belief sir. As someone who knows the area, much more than you do, I tell you: it will be devastating. What does it mean that you will start drilling in the fall? What happens NEXT year? This oil rig has the potential to stay for 20 years. I hope you realize the absurdity of what you are saying. Have you ever heard of Texas as a prime beach destination?

Q: How much oil are you expecting to find?

Petroceltic: Elsa 2 is anticipated to have up to 100 million barrels of recoverable oil. The decision to go into production depends on the actual size of the reserves and the quality of the oil found.

Maria: This is not our problem. Abruzzo already produces more energy than what we need. As Irish people you will process and sell this oil on the free market. We are not here to help your business, thank you very much. We will not sit idly while you laugh your way to the bank.

Q: What financial benefit will there be to the local community?

Petroceltic: If the exploration phase goes ahead it will provide a financial boost to the region. We estimate that approximately half of the $38m costs of drilling the Elsa 2 will be spent on service companies and local businesses in the Province of Abruzzo.

Maria: What courage do you have to say this? What kind of local businesses exactly? Will you spend this on fishing? On tourism? On cleaning the waters? Italy's royalty system is one of the most generous of the world, and your investors know this because you yourselves say things like "simple fiscal regime, low royalties, insignificant leasing prices". Truth is, Italy will only charge you 4% of what you will earn. In Libya royalties are over 90%. In Norway about 80%. This, according to the Economist of London. There is no amount of money you can spend to convince us that turning Abruzzo into a gigantic oil field is right.

Q: What local services do you intend to employ?

Petroceltic: All of the specialist services on board the rig will be supplied from the region. In addition, transport companies, local hotels and restaurants will benefit.

Maria: You gotta be kidding me. Hotels and restaurants will benefit from 50 people that will come work on your rig? What about all the people that will stop coming to visit us? What local specialist services are you talking about? There are none, sir. This is an agricultural, wine-making area. We don't want to turn into Texas, nor into Calgary.

Q: How many jobs will be created?

Petroceltic: Approximately 40-50 people working on the rig will be from companies in the local area.

Maria: Oh really? How come to this day no Abruzzo labor union has come to defend Petrolceltic's labor plans? We don't even have people with that kind of expertise!!! The experience in Basilicata shows that oil companies tend to hire their own, from aborad, and that there is a net loss of jobs.

Q: How much wealth will be created for the community if production goes ahead?

Petroceltic: If commercial quantities of oil are discovered and a decision made to develop and produce the field, production will mean long-term investment and jobs for the region for potentially as long as 20 years. Petroceltic will also pay tax to the Province of Abruzzo if production goes ahead. It is impossible to give a figure at this point.

Maria: This is pure demagogy. Exactly what kind of jobs for the region? And what about all the others that will disappear? The tourist operators that will have no tourists? Do you know that the oil and gas industry has caused massive land subsidence in Louisiana? Abruzzo's beaches are frail enough as is. Impossible to give a figure. Then why did you say 38 milion just two lines above? Do you people even have your facts straight?

Q: What happens if you find commercially viable oil?

Petroceltic: A number of government permits will be required to undertake further appraisal or develop the field and produce oil. This would include permits from the Ministry of the Environment.

Q: What happens if you do not find commercially viable oil?

Petroceltic: The rig will be demobilised and the well sealed with cement. Nothing will protrude from the seabed.

Maria: So you are telling us our fate depends on whether you think there is enough oil underground? Once again, such arrogance. Sirs, those waters, those beaches belong to us, the Abruzzo people and not to you, a bunch of Irish white men in corporate suits. It is us who should decide whether we want to be drilled or not. Do you get it?

Q: Will the oil rig be visible from the coast?

Petroceltic: The rig will be positioned more than seven kilometres from the shore and it will be barely visible on the horizon.

Q: How much noise will the oil rig make?

Petroceltic: The rig will not be heard from the shore.

Maria: Yes, but we will see the rig, the oil tankers, smell the pollution, and again witness our sea turning into the Gulf of Mexico. We don't want that.

Q: What about the noise impact for sea-life?

Petroceltic: The noise level of the rig will actually be lower than that of a large seagoing vessel. Therefore, the impact on marine fauna is considered very low.

Maria: Hmmh. Don't you want to tell us that you will be using air-guns and that those have the potential to destroy the hearing and orientation system of dolphins and other sea creatures? And what about the tons of toxic waste you will dump into the water and that, being so close to shore, will affect the food chain, starting from the sea bed? And what if there is an explosion? What will happen to sea life then? Once again, there is no benefit for us, just risks. So keep your oil rigs in Ireland.

Q: Is there any chance a boat can collide with the rig?

Petroceltic: We have a designated safety zone around the rig to prevent unauthorised boats entering this zone. This extends for a radius of 500 metres and is enforced by an order of the harbour office.

Maria: What gives you the arrogance to think you can come to our waters and design a safety region for your sole usage? People currently fish in those waters. Such bullies. Also, for your information, testing of Ombrina Mare, another rig that your other friends at Mediterranean Oil and gas intend to drill, revealed that they had polluted the sea, after 3 months of operations. By the way, collision happens all the time. In Korea in 2007 a collision between an oil tanker and a rig caused a massive oil spill - that county's largest oil disaster to date.

Q: How long will it take to assemble and demobilise the rig?

Petroceltic: The rig is a mobile device that takes about one day to become operational after arriving on location.

Q: Will the oil be transported to land? If so how?

Petroceltic: Around 2000 bbls of oil will be pumped to storage tanks during the Elsa 2 exploration phase as part of the testing process. This will then be transported ashore for sale or disposal. There will be no pipes to the shore.

Maria: Hmmh. And what about the possible desulfurization after the exploration phase? What are the safety measures of these storage tanks? Are these FPSOs? Where will the desulfurization happen? We already scared ENI away, so there is no desulfurization facility on ground. Will this junk be magically purified?

Q: Will there be a lot of ships going to the rig? How many and how big will they be?

Petroceltic: Small supply boats will visit the rig daily to bring materials and supplies and to take waste away.

Maria: Yes, and your environmental statement mentioned nothing of the fact the routes you propose are already being traversed by tourist boats. What if there are collisions? Accidents? What if this waste being transported on a daily basis finds its way into the sea?

Q: Where will the ships dock?

Petroceltic: The supply boats will sail to/from the Port of Ortona.

Maria: Yes, and you would want the port of Ortona - right now a minor goods port and not an oil tanker one - to be turned into an oil shipping facility, right? So much for little impact.

Q: Will the community be involved in any decisions about the exploration programme?

Petroceltic: The Ministry of Environment is conducting a public consultation to review the views of a wide range of stakeholders. We will be holding face-to-face meetings with some interested parties to address their concerns.

Maria: This is false. So far the community was not involved in any way and there are not, nor have their ever been face to face meetings. Why, you don't even speak Italian, and have never ever ever even tried to come talk to the people. The truth is you thought you could quickly get your permits and do as you pleased. You were not expecting such fierce opposition from us, the people. This feeble attempt of "communicating" with us, now that you are scared, is pathetic and comes way way way after your investors have been informed of all drilling activities. Shame on you.

Q: Are there plans to drill elsewhere in the region?

Petroceltic: We have no immediate plan to explore in other parts of this licence at the moment. Elsa 2 is our focus.

Maria: That is a big fat lie. Don't you want to tell your investors about other out-of-this world plans to go drill le isole Tremiti in le Puglie? How can you be so heartless? Le isole Tremiti is a gem, you want to go drill 4km from shore!!! These are pristine islands beloved by the Italian people, and you should simply be ashamed of yourselves.

Q: What is the track record of Petroceltic in terms of health, safety and environmental standards?

Petroceltic: Petroceltic has a firm commitment to conduct all its operations safely and maintain high environmental standards. Petroceltic has not had any environmental or significant health and safety issues within its operations.

Maria: The truth is that NO OIL DRILLING is absolutely safe, and we have no desire of letting you drill our waters. The government of Norway concedes drilling is polluting and dangerous. I happen to trust them more than you.

Q: Who actually makes the decision to allow exploration to go ahead?

Petroceltic: A number of government permits are required. The approval of the Ministry of the Environment is a key requirement.

Maria: And we will do all we can to make our voices heard, dear Petroceltic of Ireland, who know nothing about Abruzzo, her people and aspirations. Once again:

Go drill the beaches of Ireland!

Our first victory against Mediterranean Oil and Gas

2010-05-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

The Italian Ministry of the Environment has sent MOG's drilling project back to the drawing board on March 15th 2010.

Due to the avalanche of letters of protest to the Ministry - signed by the Catholic Church, the entire Province of Chieti, about 20 municipalities, tourist operators, scientists, medical doctors, fishermen, students, water sports associations, environmental and cultural groups, the Ministry did not allow not grant Mediterranean Oil and Gas the right to drill us.

MOG has itself called for a temporal suspension of their permits, and while trying to figure out what to do next, their CEO - Sergio Morandi - went on Italian TV telling people his rigs will be "safe".

Right. Just like the ones in Lousiana and Australia and Venezuela that have exploded recently.

It was the first time in Italian history that the Ministry of the Environment had been flooded with so many documents, criticizing and calling for authorities not to allow MOG to go ahead with its out-of-this-world plan.

The latter consists of drilling about 5 wells 3 miles offshore, and placing a floating offloading, storage and processing unit in one of the most beautiful seas of central Italy. Nowhere in the world has an FPSO been placed so close to shore, in such shallow waters, and in such close proximity to people's homes and beaches. The FPSO is designed to burn about 100 tons of toxic waste everyday, and will process mostly sour and heavy crude, oil of the worst kind.

On April 18th 2010, about 5000 people convened - under the rain - to say no to Mr. Sergio Morandi's plan.

Go back to London, gentlemen, you will save yourselves money and time.

We will not let you drill our waters. We simply will not.

Shame on the Forest Oil Corporation of Denver

2010-04-24T01:05:00.000-07:00

Unwanted by virtually all residents, the Denver based company Forest Oil has announced plans to drill a beloved tourist location in central Italy, lake Bomba.

This is an artificial lake, bordered by a dam, and is known for its recreational fishing activites, hiking, swimming, kayaking and just pure enjoyment of nature. It is a beautiful pristine place, beloved by the people.

Forest Oil intends build a desulfurization plant, a series of oil and gas wells and a vast pipeline network all around the lake. They are doing this against the will of the local people who have protested and petitioned the government to stop this insanity.

Geological reports conducted by the previous owner of the drilling lease - the oil company ENI - showed that the area is at strong risk for land subsidence and that drilling could lead to mudslides and dam failure.

We don't want this to happen. Forest Oil is not welcome here.

TO Mediterranean oil and gas investors, regarding Ombrina Mare

2010-03-06T14:54:00.000-08:00

What MOG is telling you:

A few days ago, UK-based Mediterranean oil and Gas announced on several websites the doubling of its reserves for the Ombrina Mare field in the Adriatic waters off Abruzzo, Italy. Current estimates are at about 40 million barrels of oil: 12 are proven, 28 are probable.

MOG also claims that they have submitted plans for development of Ombrina Mare back in 2008 and that they expect to commence production in 2012, through one production platform, an FPSO, five wells and subsea pipelines. They also plan to furher their drilling activities in the future.

What MOG is not telling you:

MOG has not disclosed that currently THEY DO NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO DRILL THE ADRIATIC. Their permits are pending and it is very likely they will be denied.

Indeed, MOG management has been less than candid regarding the huge opposition among residents against this and any and all drilling plans for the region of Abruzzo. MOG plans to drill 6 km - about 4 miles - from shore. Its concession proposal overlaps with fishing sanctuaries. The onshore area is part of the National Park "La costa dei trabocchi". All of us love this sea immensely and MOG is playing with fire by touching something that is so sacred to the Abruzzo people.

Antidrilling sentiments are widespead and virtually every major political, business, social, cultural and religious group has been vocal about its opposition to drilling. We have sent about 100 documents to the Ministry of the environment urging them not to approve MOG's plan. Among signatories: the Catholic Church, Confcommercio (the Union of Merchants), Assoturismo, The Province of Chieti, ten municipalities, the WWF, dozens of academics, medical doctors, lawyers, engineers, school children, soccer clubs. About 50,000 signatures have been gathered so far against all drilling plans for Abruzzo.

A huge protest day against MOG is set for April 18th 2010.

Initially MOG was going to use an onshore refinery to process its crude oil, the ill fated Miglianico project proposed by ENI. The refinery was never built due to opposition from us, the people. Prime Minister Berlusconi himself during a 2008 visit declared there would be no oil refineries in Abruzzo. So MOG changed its plans and proposed the FPSO, 10 km offshore, simply beacuse onshore facilities did nto exist and could not be built by law.

If we were so strong and succesful in stopping ENI - Italy's largest and partly state owned oil company, do you think we will idly sit and let Mr. Sergio Morandi and Mr. Micheal Bonte-Friedheim take our sea from us? ENI iteslf is divesting from Italy because people will not allow them to do as they please in a country that is too beautiful to be destroyed by low grade, sulphur laden crude oil - the bottom of the barrel in words of an ENI executive.

So, the bottom line is that in my personal opinion, investing with MOG or any minor company that wants to drill ecologically sensitive Italy is like throwing your money away.

Apart from the Miglianico oil project (Ortona, ENI) that is on indefinite hold, this writer - a physicist and professor of Mathematics who is part of the Sustanability Institute at her California Institute - has been instrumental in stopping oil projects in il Parco del Curone (Milan) where the Australian firm Po Valley had plans to drill. They packed up and left due to opposition from residents. Similarly in Monopoli (Bari) the Regional Tribunal for Puglia rescinded the drilling permits awarded to Northern Petroleum.

The people of Abruzzo, all 1 million of us, will do all we can to stop MOG.

Can Abruzzo’s Tourism Afford an Oil Spill?

2010-01-24T04:51:00.000-08:00

Today the BBC’s World Service revealed that 20,000 gallons of crude oil is trapped in Alaska’s gravel beaches from the Exxon Valedez Oil disaster and is impacting the local eco-system, sea otters, sea ducks and other sea birds, all of whom are producing an enzyme that indicates exposure to oil. The original belief was that the leaked oil would bio-degrade hence clean-up operations had been disbanded in 1992.

Professor Michael Boufadel, chairman of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Temple University, has found there is a susceptibility of beaches worldwide to long-term oil contamination where beaches tend to be gravel or a mixture of sand and gravel. What happens is that the gravel traps the oil between two layers of rock, with larger rocks on top and finer gravel underneath.

The beaches in Abruzzo are mostly soft & sandy, though there are many stony gravel ones, particularly in the Chieti region. Accidents in oil extraction from equipment failure, human error, and natural impacts, i.e. earthquakes, are not just a possibility but highly probable. The chances of accident are increased not just by the proposed oil rigs that major oil companies have applied to construct, but from oil traffic, i.e. oil tankers that would be visiting the proposed refinery in Ortona to take Abruzzo’s low grade oil to distant shores.

Abruzzo’s growing popularity as a holiday destination saw the region this weekend featured by leading UK press: The Times, who named it within its Top 10 ‘Adventure Holidays of a Lifetime’, and within The Guardian who did a feature on Abruzzo Ski-ing, and this is just for its lesser known ‘winter sports’. Tourism benefits all trades within Abruzzo not just the farmers & winegrowers who supply the restaurants, but the chefs that are employed, the marketing companies who promote the area, the printers who create marketing materials, small construction & building companies who build hotels and villas for tourists to stay, to name just a few of those and the ancillaries thereof who benefit. None of these people will be employed by oil companies nor will they have a job if there is an oil spill on Abruzzo’s Adriatic coastline.

Boufadel's study was funded by a $1.2 million, three-year grant from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. The council was formed after the environmental disaster to oversee restoration of the sound. Does the Abruzzo Government think it will be in a position of power to request such monies from any of the oil companies involved in future oil exploration in Abruzzo? Does it have funds available to pay for future unemployment that will occur if disaster strikes?

Listen to the BBC Programme, Science in Action that revealed Professor Michael Boufadel's research or read here the findings of his study on long-term oil contamination.

Trabocchi Photograph © 2010 Life in Abruzzo

MOG's Application to Delete Abruzzo Fish Stocks & Endanger Fishermen's Jobs

2010-01-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

The fight to stop Abruzzo being trampled by the greedy squabble for its low grade oil continues. Yet another application has been received to drill the very traditions and wildlife out of this beautiful region of central Italy, an appreciation shared by George Clooney (who has just finished filming there) and film directors Anton Corbijin and Luc Jacquet.

This new application has been submitted by the English oil giant MOG (Mediterranean Oil & Gas Co Ltd), who wish to set up an oil rig 6km opposite the Marina di San Vito that sits in the very heart of the trabocchi coastline, and slap-bang in the middle of a fish reserve. This will bring death to both fish and fishermen whose livelihoods will be ruined and who most certainly will not be employed in this enterprise if it is approved.

To understand how this will cause the local marine reserve to falter & die, one first needs to understand the stages of life of an oil platform; each stage shares a common method of dumping toxic drill cuttings and chemicals back into the sea which poisons the very life therein. All have a lethal affect on fish, birds, molluscs, and mammals like dolphins and humans that eat them. This includes cancer, stunted growth, irregular growth of feathers, scales & skin, respiratory system & liver problems in addition to irregular reproductive behaviour.

First Stage - Seismic Survey

Underwater explosions of around 250 decibels (the human pain threshold is at 140 db) are created by air guns to deduce underlying geology that is measured by the reflected sound waves. This has a particularly disturbing effect on dolphins which use sound for communication & navigation. Fish are also displaced, which in turn affects the dolphins and birds which feed on them. Studies have shown that the numbers in fish stock is reduced by 45% within 9.5 km of these blasts. The blasts can damage tissue, including lungs, guts and ears in mammals, and swim bladders in fish.

Second Stage – Drilling State

At this point, "muds" (lubricants) are pumped down, to keep the drill bit cool and to regulate the flow of oil. They consist of hydrocarbons, heavy metals (including cadmium, mercury and lead) and other toxic chemicals, as well as chemicals that stop rusting, and detergents. The drill cuttings (the removed rock) is dumped onto the seabed and the cuttings asphyxiate the life of the seabed, severely impacting the structure of the ecological communities up to several kms around.

Third Stage - Platform & Pipeline Installation

The installation of the platform & pipeline causes further disturbance to seabed ecosystems, through dredging, filling and anchoring. Underwater structures are treated with protective chemicals, which release toxins into the water. The oil platform discharges not just the water it needs to keep it cool, but sewage, constant noise and light pollution.

Most fields contain water as well as oil and gas. This "production water", containing both oil and chemicals, receives only very simple treatment before being discharged. The discharges of production chemicals is estimated at 6,000 tonnes per year (30% of quantity used), plus 84,000 tonnes of drilling chemicals.

Despite Italy signing up to the EU Directive ‘Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2007’, it appears that scant attention is being paid to this act either by MOG Ltd or by any Italian Ministry accepting this application. We urge anyone who wishes Abruzzo to retain its diverse and healthy wildlife to write to these 2 ministeries to petition against this application, here is an example letter for those that need guidance,you will need to change your name and address, the ministery address and the application reference to the MOG reference below. Time is short, please act now as the deadline for petitioning this application is January 25th 2010.

Attention of: Direzione per la Salvaguardia Ambientale del Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare
Address: Cristoforo Colombo, 44 - 00147 Roma
Application Number/Attenzione: Ombrina Mare - concessione 30 BC MD - Mediterranean Oil and Gas

Attention of: Direzione Generale della Pesca Marittima e dell'Acquacoltura del Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali
Address: Via dell'Arte, 16, Piano 3, Stanza 5 - 00144 - Roma
Application Number/Attenzione: Ombrina Mare - concessione 30 BC MD - Mediterranean Oil and Gas

Further Reading
To read the application form that MOG has submitted click here

The Kids Say No! SOS Abruzzo

2010-01-06T06:34:00.000-08:00

Watch the brilliant video that has won a national award for local school children from Ortona. Hear why they want a future Abruzzo to remain oil free and do not want oil companies building an oil refinery in their town. It is naturally in Italian, but these clever kids have added English subtitles to extend the message, ensuring that not just politicans but English speaking Oil Companies hear their wishes.

Last Chance Saloon for Abruzzo to Stay Clean

2009-12-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

Wednesday 30th December will see the Abruzzo Regional Council debate the proposed amendments put forward by the ‘No Oil Abruzzo’ Consortium that includes the WWF and the Catholic Church, as well as local residents and communes opposed to drilling for oil in Abruzzo, which it is believed has everything to lose and nothing to gain for Italy’s green heartland.

Leaders of the consortium that included the Italian national WWF director today called for urgent measures to protect the region and the looming demands on its Adriatic Sea & Coastline. Proposals for oil platforms already received suggest drilling less than 5 km from the beach in some parts on the Chieti coast, and it is expected for these soon to follow up to the Teramo area.

The consortium for ‘No Oil Abruzzo’ issued a request for Abruzzo to emulate Emilia Romagna in curtailing oil exploration so that the area’s land, sea and air has a sustainable future where agriculture, tourism & fisheries, as well as the health of the people, will not be compromised in exchange for royalties. It expressed the urgent need to follow European Directives such as the Coastal Management Plan which curtails oil platform proliferation.

Say No to Oil in Abruzzo Says George Clooney Director Anton Corbijn

2009-12-08T13:31:00.000-08:00

"For the Pleasure of a Few to Take Away the Pleasures of Many Forever?"

Anton Corbijn, Director of George Clooney's current film 'The American'that was recently shot in Abruzzo, has joined the environmental campaign 'No Oil Abruzzo' that is calling upon the Italian and Abruzzo governments to extend the moratorium on oil extraction in Abruzzo that runs out at the end of 2009 for another 30 years.

The collective 'No Oil Abruzzo' Campaign is working to halt oil companies proposed oil mining and extraction in Abruzzo, Europe's largest parkland, host to Europe's most southerly glacier, endangered bears & wolves to name just a few. The companies include: ENI, Petroceltic, Mediterranean Oil & Gas, Forest Oil, Vega Oil, Cygam Gas & Edison Oil.

Proposed mining and refineries in Abruzzo will infringe on not just National Parks, Marine Reserves & Bird Sanctuaries but jeopardise those who make a sustainable living from both agriculture and tourism within the region.

A recent proposal by the Abruzzo government goes half-way in extending the moratorium but still allows for oil operations to be permitted in some onshore areas & just 5km off the Abruzzo Adriatic coastline, No Oil Abruzzo is calling for an inclusive moratorium that includes all off-shore drilling.

Anton Corbijn, the acclaimed Dutch filmmaker & photographer who has also directed music videos for U2, REM, Joy Division, Depeche Mode, Nirvana, & Coldplay said:

"I have just returned from 3 months filming George Clooney in Abruzzo. It is now my favourite region in Italy and that is not just because of the people there. One of the main characters in our new film is the landscape of Abruzzo: Castel del Monte, Castelvecchio, Calascio, Sulmona, Anversa and their surroundings had an amazing influence on the way we shot the film.

We choose these places because we love Abruzzo so much. To think that anyone in their right mind would for some lousy profit and product destroy a large part of this largely unspoilt paradise is beyond me.

For the pleasure of a few to take away the pleasures for many forever, is there nothing safe from greed and corruption (surely, how else is this possible?)? These few people should rethink their plans, their lives and the lives of others and put those oil drilling plans on hold for the foreseeable future."

The No Oil Abruzzo campaign believes that long-term clean investment in Abruzzo by commerce such as the film industry will benefit the whole of Abruzzo's population rather than a select few. As the area becomes more internationally known as an area of outstanding beauty more people will want to experience, either through the products it produces or by visiting locations that they see in films.

If oil mining commences in Abruzzo, no film location manager will want to film in a region whose beauty is worn out by oil mining. There will be no international demand to taste the fine food and wines it produces which have been tainted by the sulphur that is needed to process the low grade oil that the region of Abruzzo has beneath its soil & seas. Nobody will want to come and visit Abruzzo's mountains and Adriatic Sea when the vista is of oil mines, oil rigs and refineries. What will the people of Abruzzo do for an income then? What will be left of Europe's green heart?

The No Oil Campaign is supported by the WWF, The Catholic Church,
Wine-Growers Association, Assoturisimo, Confcommercio, The Union of Craftsman, Beach Operators as well as several local cultural, sport & environmental associations.

View Anton Corbijn Official Website
Artwork Design by Environmental Artists hehe – www.hehe.org

Imagine the Outcry If they Made Tuscany into an Oilfield

2009-11-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

Can you imagine the outcry if the Italian government made Tuscany into an oil field? Yes it would never happen, but Abruzzo, slightly less well known but equally beautiful, is next on the list for the multinational oil companies and self-serving Italian politicians; Abruzzo is a wild and mountainous area of central Italy, famed for its national parks, vivid scenery and stunning wildlife.

49% of Abruzzo has been tagged ready for extraction pending final approval of permits, a colossal infringement of its biodiversity & ecological richness; oil wells in protected national parks, refineries in agricultural & wine land, plus rigs in the Adriatic Sea just a few kilometres from the coast.

No Buffer Zone for Coasts or Nature Reserves

The planned oil rigs will span the 100km that makes up the Abruzzo coastline. Italy currently has no environmental legislation limiting offshore drilling; compare this to California where no new oil rigs are permitted within a 100 mile buffer zone to protect its beaches and coast. Just 3 of the proposed oil rig sites are:

2km off-shore: Opposite Vasto & Punta Aderci, the state nature reserve & bird sanctuary.
3km off-shore: Opposite Pescara, Abruzzo’s tourist heartland.
7km off-shore: Opposite Pineto and positioned in Torre del Cerrano Marine Reserve.

Low Grade Toxic Scraping of the Barrel

At 11 API, Abruzzo oil is only slightly better than the worst oil in the world - Alberta Tar Sands, which has an index of 8 API compared to rich Texas crude oil with an index of 40 API. In order to use Abruzzo’s heavy, sour oil with its high sulphuric content, polluting desulphurisation refineries will be required.

One refinery is planned in Ortona, set in the middle of vineyards from which award-winning Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wine is produced. 10km of pipeline are intended to link the oil field, refinery and port. The World Health Organisation recommends a legal limit of 0.005pmin, the emissions of H2S (Hydrogen Sulphide), a by-product of the refining of low grade oil; Italy allows up to 20ppm in refinery emissions, one can only imagine how the fallout of such high sulphuric emissions will impact the local viniculture and health of the community.

The People Say “No”

Abruzzo's sustainable economy is based on agriculture, winemaking and tourism, which the provinces of Chieti & Teramo have heavily invested in to help Abruzzo be the proud winner of 13 EU Blue Flag Awards. 80% of Abruzzo’s residents, 250 out of 300 communes, will be affected by the proposed oil excavation in the region; unsurprisingly the people of Abruzzo fear that oil is incompatible with both their way of life and current sustainable local economy.

In December 2008 a poll was conducted whose results showed that 75% of Abruzzo’s residents were opposed to drilling, 10% were in favour of it, and the rest did know enough to have an opinion about it.

History Repeating Itself

Many of these opponents to drilling have read The FT, Corriere della Sera and Repubblica reports about Basilicata in Southern Italy, where in the last 15 years 70% of its territory has been covered by oil permits. Wine and olive production has declined by 50%, emigration and corruption is rampant, cancer rates have increased as water reservoirs have been polluted. ENI, the leader in the oil giants’ rush on Abruzzo, is facing litigation for the pollution of Viggiano.

Such strong opposition by the communes & residents of Abruzzo has seen the mobilisation of segments of society not normally associated with environmental affairs. The Catholic Church (the entire Abruzzo & Molise federation of bishops) has produced a document opposing drilling. Instead of hiding it under the carpet and hoping it disappears, the Assoturisimo (the association of tourist operators), Confcommercio (the association of commerce operators), Confederazione dell'artigianato e della piccola impresa (the association of small business and for arts and crafts) and The Association of Winegrowers have all been vocal in their protest of the drilling Abruzzo, all supported by the WWF, Legambiente & Greenpeace.

A Moratorium of 30 Years

People power can work; a temporary moratorium is in place but will expire on December 31st 2009. This was passed on March 4th 2008, when close to 6,000 people descended upon L’'Aquila Regional Parliament on the day it was being debated. Govenor Ottaviano del Turco, who later resigned on charges of a 6 million euro bribe, was in favour of drilling but due to public pressure signed the 2 year moratorium halting oil excavation in Abruzzo.

The people of Abruzzo are now calling upon the new Governor of Abruzzo, Gianni Chiodi and his deputy for the environment, Daniela Stati, to engage in public debates and to state their support for or against drilling; so far they have refused both missives as well as declining to speak to national media. We urge them to publically state their intentions for January 1st 2010. Abruzzo like Tuscany is not a place that should be ignored.

Notes
Oil Companies Awarded/Awaiting Permits: Petroceltic (Ireland), Mediterranean Oil and
Gas (UK), Forest Oil (USA), ENI (Italy), Edison (Italy) and Gas Plus (Italy).

Map of where these Oil Companies Intend to Drill - click on the map to view in detail

Say No to Oil in Abruzzo on Your Website

2009-11-17T16:13:00.001-08:00

Would you like to help preserve Abruzzo and keep it green and oil free? Would you like to join the protest by Abruzzo's residents & the WWF in their attempt to stop the Italian govt selling the region out to the highest oil bidder?

We have an easy way how you can assist this campaign and help us to make the world aware of how Europe's biggest parkland is facing exploration and drilling for oil.

If you have a website, blog or Facebook page simply download one of the banners below and add it up onto your website or Facebook page.

Link the image thru to the Save the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Blog, the Italian language blog - Apocalisse Italia or alternatively our Facebook group - so that people can read more. They are standard sizes that will slot in comfortably onto most website pages. If you need help, please just let us know.

DO NOT DRILL ABRUZZO

2009-08-31T19:08:00.000-07:00

Mediterranean Oil and Gas
Petroceltic
ENI
go home!

Due to the activism of the people, a moratorium was passed in March 2008 and no oil operations are permitted until 2010. We are fighting for a 30 year moratorium to be approved before that time.

A petition to the Italian ministry of the environment has already collected almost 50,000 signatures.

Here are a few of the communities that have said no to big oil in Abruzzo:

Regione Abruzzo, Provincia di Chieti, Comune di Pescara, Comune di Tollo, Comune di Miglianico, Comune di Crecchio, Comune di Lanciano, Comune di Pineto, Comune di San Giovanni Teatino, Comune di Francavilla a Mare, Comune di Orsogna, Comune di Palombaro, Comune di Frisa, Comune di Giuliano Teatino, Unione di Comuni Città della Frentania e Costa dei Trabocchi, Unione dei Comuni delle Colline Teatine, Comune di Casacanditella, Comune di Casalincontrada, Comune di Ripa Teatina, Comune di Fara Filiorum Petri, Comune di Bucchianico, Comune di Pineto, Coume di Giulianova, Comune di Silvi Marina, Comune di Mosciano, Coume di Alba Adriatica, Comune di San Martino sulla Marrucina, Comune di Vacri, Comune di Villamagna, Comune di Mozzagrogna, Conferenza episcopale e molisana, Associazione Valori Idee Passione, Legambiente, WWF, Confcommercio, Confesercenti, Archeoclub, Operatori turistici della zona, Copagri, Coldiretti, Confagricoltura, Confcooperative, Lega Confcooperative, Città del vino, Slow food, Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, Partito dei Verdi, DS, Pdci, S.d.ii, Udeur, Italia dei valori, Alleanza Nazionale, La destra, Movimento comunità, Forza Nuova, Fiamma Tricolore, M.I.S. con Rauti, Comitato Punto Ortona, Coordinamento per la tutela della costa teatina, MareLibero, Comitato natura verde, Nuovo Senso Civico, Le impronte, Comitato Abruzzese del Paesaggio, Emergenza Abruzzo, Comitato civico Miglianico, Circolo per la valorizzazione delle terre pubbliche attraverso le popolazioni locali, Centro Internazionale Crocevia (CroceviaTerra), CCDD Tollo, Progresso Agricolo, Cantina Tollo, Olearia Vinicola Orsogna, Cantina Miglianico, Vini Citra, Cantina Sociale Sannitica, Cantine Dragani, La Castellina soc. coop., Collefrisio S.r.l, Azienda Agriverde S.r.l., Cantina Matteucci, Cantina Di Virgilio

ENI's shame

2009-07-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

It was meant to be a secret project, with backhand dealings and discussions between a few corrupt, or at best incompetent, government officials and the oil company ENI. Absolutely no involvement of the people. Just like during colonial times, they took out a map of Abruzzo and decided where and when to start drilling. No questions asked. And not just an oil rig here or there, but fifty per cent of our land. No newspaper reports, no citizen councils, no transparent reports for the public. Nada.

Today after seven years since this story began, we are closer than ever to saving our land from big oil.

Ortona is a sleepy town of about 22,000 people in Abruzzo, with a thriving farming and winemaking industry. There is also fishing and some tourism. Tradition holds that the body of Saint Thomas, the apostle that did not believe the Christ had been resurrected, was taken and buried here after his death. World war two was fiercely fought all around Ortona between Germans and Canadians. About 1,200 uniformed Canadian young men are buried here. Our town is known in history books as the "Little Stalingrad" of Italy.

Ortona also used to host a logistic and an oil storage center for ENI, Italy's largest oil company. The facility was created right after World War II at the same time port facilities were being created from the rubble. The center was dismantled in 2001, due to ENI's internal reorganizing.

Life seemed easy and peaceful in Ortona until, in April 2007, people of the small neighborhood "il Feudo" started smelling a nauseous rotten egg odor in the air. They started observing unusual convoys from the oil company ENI (NYSE:ENI) coming through their lands. Three friends met by chance under an olive tree during their siesta time and started asking questions.

What was this smell? What was the black smoke coming out of the ground? Some had been told ENI was going to build some underground storage facilities. Was it true and why did they need to build new storage facilities in the midst of their wineries?

It was all so fishy and questions kept haunting Giusto, Gabriele and Carlo. They soon incorporated themselves into a tiny association, called Comitato Natura Verde, the committee for green nature. In time it would be known all over Abruzzo as a group of heroic citizens who stood up to big oil.

The three friends started investigating. It has been impossible to properly retrace
the official paperwork trail, because virtually nothing has been divluged to the press, nor to the people. But this is what we know:

On February 11th 2001 ENI announced to its shareholders that an exploration well, called "Miglianico 1" had been drilled in Ortona and that oil had been recovered at about 5km under the ground. They did not report that the oil well had been drilled in prime winemaking land.

At the time, politicians and administrators in Ortona were trying to work with ENI, hoping to save jobs in Ortona. The company was internally restructuring their local facilities and about 350 mid-level positions were at risk. ENI was planning to relocate their upper management to Ravenna, 300 miles to the north. Strikes and negotiations were not successful and eventually ENI shut down in Ortona.

In a last minute effort to keep ENI's precence in Ortona, the unions brought unofficial discussions of the oil wells to the table, asking ENI what they planned to do with the new rigs and whether the new found oil could be used to keep some of these at risk jobs in Ortona. ENI's position was that the oil wells were not viable due to their high sulfur content and modest availability.

The oil company packed up and went to Ravenna. The Miglianico oil well idled for a few years, a little red curious knob coming out of the ground, surrounded by green wine plants. No one talked about it anymore.

Fast forward five years.

On July 24th 2006 ENI filed paperwork to build an oil desulfurization plant in Ortona. Local authorities were forced to deny the necessary permits on September 1st of that same year, since the proposed parcel of land was designated as agricultural and not industrial.

Suspecting such a negative outcome, ENI tried a different strategy to force its way through regulations. On August 10th 2006, they had filed a request to the regional government for an expedited exemption meant to bypass the standard process and revise zoning laws in their own interest.

The regional council met on April 4th 2007 to discuss the oil refinery plant. Various agencies participated in that meeting, including the provincial health unit, ASL (Azienda Sanitaria Locale) of Chieti which has jurisdiction over the city of Ortona. The ASL representative classified ENI’s proposed activity as ‘noxious of grade 1’, its more severe ranking for toxic units, and recommended ENI utilize and continuosly upgrade “the best possible tecnhology to abate emissions from the refinery plant” . The water agency for the region of Abruzzo, ARTA (Azienda Regionale per il Territorio e l'Acqua), also added that in case of malfunctions exhaust fumes from the refinery would be directly released to the atmosphere.

Minutes of the meeting reveal that ENI was less than candid in revealing the scope of its operations in Abruzzo, and that “only partial data” was released to governmental authorities,
who themselves did not let inform the public.

A new meeting was called for April 20th 2007, where ENI presented a more detailed report, but which still lacked key information and explanations. According to the briefings, the medical representative from ASL denounced once again that ENI had not discussed at all “ the exact methods for transportation and transformation of exhaust gases, the chemical substances that would be used, the exact water consumption rates and where the water would come from, how any wastewater would be disposed of, and whether during the treatment of crude oil any particularly toxic or dangerous transformation method would be employed.” The head of the regional fire unit claimed that “the documentation produced” did not allow him to express a complete and definite opinion.

These briefings were viewed by members of the CNV, months after the meetings had occurred and inexplicably these documents have been tampered with: many pages, statements and signatures have been deleted.

On April 26th 2007, the ASL representative filed a motion for better control and analysis of necessary and mitigating infrastructures, such as wastewater treatment, noise and pollution abatement. The motion was never considered and was basically ignored by all parties involved.

The next day, April 27th 2007, the final meeting regarding approval for the oil refinery was held in Ortona. After 35 minutes, and with none of the previous issues being discussed or resolved, the oil refinery plant was approved and any and all impediments removed. ASL had signed on. The mayor of Ortona did not have any objections. The head of the fire unit also had gaven his approval. It was a done deal. Within two weeks all major governmental offices had given their aproval.

Prime wine land was thus designated to become a desulfurizaition plant for the treatement of heavy and sour oil, of the worst kind, and without any involvement whatsoever of the residents. All these meetings were held semi-secretly, were never properly advertised to the people and were never reported by the media.

In Italy, approval of building plans usually take months. People have waited up to two years to get permits to build garage units for their homes. It is remarkable that in this case all permits were given to ENI in the space of only 2 weeks, by the city of Ortona and by the region of Abruzzo.

Why were all environmental concerns ignored?

Why did the city officials of Ortona, ultimately, give in so easily to ENI, without informing the people, or themselves for that matter, about the consequence of oil rigs, refinery plants and pipelines in the midst of a wine district? Without ever opening honest discussions? Without acknowledging their conflicts of interest? The answer is simple: greed and corruption.

The mayor of Ortona, was and still is, Nicola Fratino, who stands to gain enourmously from the oil refinery plant. He was elected in a center-right coalition in the same political party as Italy’s current prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. The party is called Forza Italia.

Together with his brother Sergio, Mr. Fratino owns a maritime company “Fratino G e figli SRL” and “Buonefra” , a construction company that had joined CIA, a consortium of local entrepeneurships. CIA, (Consorzio Imprese Abruzzesi) was formally incorporated in 2002 with the sole aim of providing construction and logistic services to ENI, as stated in the paperwork filed to the Chamber of Commerce. The idea behind CIA was that having a sole entity, instead of many smaller builders, would force ENI to contract its work to them, if ever the oil that ENI had discovered in Ortona was to be refined or commercialized.

As stated, CIA’s mission was to “contract and supply infrastructure for the oil industry” and to “create a a dynamic structure that could offer ENI-AGIP global services in Ortona.”

The cost of the operation was estimated at around 600M euros, and indeed, ENI would have to go through them, since most of the main political players who forced this project on the region were part of CIA or affiliated to them.

In addition, since the oil refinery project also included a pipeline to the port and the shipping of treated oil from the Ortona port, the two Fratino brothers were also to gain from the passage of oil tankers. Their company is in fact the sole port concession authority in Ortona.

The vice mayor of Ortona, a lawyer by the name of Remo di Martino, allegedly even offered legal services to Ortona throughout the dezulfurization plant approval affair.

Ever since this story surfaced to the public, in mid 2007, the mayor and vice mayor of Ortona has maintained that oil is compatible with agriculture and tourism, that it will bring us wealth and prosperity and that there will be no pollution nor health hazards to the people. They have been the greatest advocates for ENI in Ortona. They are both lawyers by training and neither of them have scientific, medical, or economic backgrounds. However, there are astute businessmen and clearly recognize the wealth and properity this project will bring to them personally.

If Mayor Fratino were not involved with CIA, could this project have been approved in an unprecendented two weeks? How much does the prospect of monetary gain blind him to what scientists, economists and medical doctors have been repeating for months, that a desulfurization plant is incompatible with the particular geographic, economic and social setting of Ortona?

Although repeatedly invited by the local press to explain his position, and his ideas, Mayor Fratino has always refused public debates or interviews on this topic.

Aside from Mr. Fratino, here are other members of CIA:

Sergio Bazzanini – president, Francescopaolo Cianci, vicepresident. Councilpersons: Calogero Marrollo, Francesco D’Alessandro, Tommaso Nervegna.

Here are the other companies that belong to CIA. SRL means societa’ a responsabilita’ limitata and is the equivalent of an American LLC company.

Cor Pro Italia SRL:
Maurizio Chiavaroli CEO, Gianfranco Buccella president, Ennio Buccella and Gianfranco Piccirilli, vice-presidents. Petroleum contractors, based in Pescara, Via Cadute del forte.

Iniziative industriali SRL:
Incorporated in 1987 within COSMI, an oil company that operates also in Kazakistam and Libia. They specialize in prefabrication, assembly, electrical wiring and maintenance of oil plants.

Societa’ meridionale inerti SRL:
Located in Vasto they specialize in building residential and commercial real estate. The head of the company is Calogero Marrollo, also at the head of the association of industry owners called Confindustria Abruzzo. Confindustria Abruzzo has also publicly declared its support to the oil desulfurization plant.

Marrollo Costruzioni SRL:
This company was founded by same Calogero Marrollo of above.

CMTI Society Petroleum SRL:
Rocco d’Arielli is the owner and CEO. Ivan e Tommaso D’Arielli and Luisella Bernabeo also belong to the company. They are based in Ortona and specialize in prefabrication, assembly and maintenance of petrochemical plants, both onshore and offshore.

Fratelli Nervegna autotrasporti SRL:
Trucking company. Its president in Tommaso Nervegna, who also belongs to the city council of Ortona, in the same right-wing political party of mayor Fratino.

Galeno RP SRL:
Environmental and safety consultants since 1987. They have divisions focussing on environmental engineering, chemical, physical and microbiological analysis and medical dignostics.

Buonefra SRL:
The company was founded in 1974 by the father of mayor Fratino, by the Nervegna brothers (the same of the trucking company) and by Giuseppe Buontempo. They operated as truckers, martime agents and as a construction company. It was Buonefra SRL that built the current port of Ortona., transforming a few miles of touristic shore into a commerical port.

Progepi SRL:
Another company that belongs to COSMI, the same of Iniziative industriali SRL. Since 1988 the company works as project designers for chemical, petroleum, ecologic plants.

Fabrizio Lazzari:
His role is not known, but hs is formally part of CIA.

Who we are

2009-01-23T06:42:00.000-08:00

The entire region of Abruzzo has come together in this battle to keep big oil out of our land. Here are a few communities and organizations that have joined the struggle. As a people we have learnt of drilling plans for Abruzzo early in 2007. Since then, there have been countless and tireless efforts to stop big oil. From the Catholic church to local politicians we have all said no.
Due to the activism of the people, a moratorium was passed in March 2008 and no oil operations are permitted until 2010. We are fighting for a 30 year moratorium to be approved before that time.

Here are a few of the communities that have said no to big oil in Abruzzo:

Regione Abruzzo, Provincia di Chieti, Comune di Pescara, Comune di Tollo, Comune di Miglianico, Comune di Crecchio, Comune di Lanciano, Comune di Pineto, Comune di San Giovanni Teatino, Comune di Francavilla a Mare, Comune di Orsogna, Comune di Palombaro, Comune di Frisa, Comune di Giuliano Teatino, Unione di Comuni Città della Frentania e Costa dei Trabocchi, Unione dei Comuni delle Colline Teatine, Comune di Casacanditella, Comune di Casalincontrada, Comune di Ripa Teatina, Comune di San Martino sulla Marrucina, Comune di Vacri, Comune di Villamagna, Comune di Mozzagrogna, Conferenza episcopale e molisana, Associazione Valori Idee Passione, Legambiente, WWF, Confcommercio, Confesercenti, Archeoclub, Operatori turistici della zona, Copagri, Coldiretti, Confagricoltura, Confcooperative, Lega Confcooperative, Città del vino, Slow food, Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, Partito dei Verdi, DS, Pdci, S.d.ii, Udeur, Italia dei valori, Alleanza Nazionale, La destra, Movimento comunità, Forza Nuova, Fiamma Tricolore, M.I.S. con Rauti, Comitato Punto Ortona, Coordinamento per la tutela della costa teatina, MareLibero, Comitato natura verde, Nuovo Senso Civico, Le impronte, Comitato Abruzzese del Paesaggio, Emergenza Abruzzo, Comitato civico Miglianico, Circolo per la valorizzazione delle terre pubbliche attraverso le popolazioni locali, Centro Internazionale Crocevia (CroceviaTerra), CCDD Tollo, Progresso Agricolo, Cantina Tollo, Olearia Vinicola Orsogna, Cantina Miglianico, Vini Citra, Cantina Sociale Sannitica, Cantine Dragani, La Castellina soc. coop., Collefrisio S.r.l, Azienda Agriverde S.r.l., Cantina Matteucci, Cantina Di Virgilio

ENI (NYSE:E) and its shame on the Financial Times

2009-01-20T06:59:00.000-08:00

On November 17th, 2008 Guy Dinmore published an article on the Financial Times about the Italian oil company Eni, traded on the New York stock exchange as NYSE:E and its environmentally irresponsible ways of drilling oil and of respecting people, parks and history. Dinmore describes the nightmare of what it meant and still is for the people of Basilicata, a southern Italian region, to accept oil companies on their territory.

At first, the discovery of oil was celebrated by the people of Basilicata as the beginning of a new future of wealth and opportunity. Basilicata was a very poor region, plagued by emigration, and little job opportunities aside farming. They believed the promises ENI made them, they believed that young people could lead a prosperous life at home, and that high unemployment in the region would finally belong to the past.

Fiftenn years after the promises the truth has finally come. Starkedly naked.. The population of Basilicata continues to dwindle. Over the last ten years the population has fallen from 600,000 to only 530,000 people, the jobs created by the oil companies are few and mostly for people coming from outside Basilicata. The enviroment is seriously damaged by hydrogen sulfide and other toxic chemicals released in the atmosphere and on the ground. Public health has been compromised, corruption is rampant and cancer rates are skyrocketing.

What was celebratated many years ago as the beginning of a new development turned into the worst nightmare for Basilicata. We don't wont this to happen to Abruzzo. We know the truth about oil companies. Despite all the corruption that exists in Italy's commanding heights we are determined to save our land and not to make any of this happen to us.

The Financial Times news article can be reached following this link.

ENI's shame

2008-11-23T20:24:00.000-08:00

L' Abruzzo

2008-07-02T08:49:00.001-07:00

Very few people are familiar with Abruzzo, a magnificent region in the heart of Italy just an hour away from Rome. Our land has been blessed by breathtaking mountain views overlooking the blue Adriatic sea, and is scattered by peaceful medieval towns, with an abundance of castles, churches and fortresses where time seems to flow at slower, more gentle pace.

Because we are off the beaten path of most tourists, and because historically the Apennines made it difficult to communicate with the outside world, we have managed to keep our true essence of a strong and practical people yet kind and gentle, unfazed by city glamour. Most ancient traditions have remained intact, and are still celebrated the same way they were centuries ago.

A third of our land is designated as a national park. Nature and wildlife thrive here, and you can go from mountain skiing to swimming in the sea within the space of a few hours. Our food is hearty and generous - some of the best olive oils in the world come from Abruzzo and our Montepulciano is exported and sold all over the world. Perhaps you have eaten la pasta "De Cecco" o "Del Verde" - they are all made right here, at the feet of our beloved and white Majella mountain.

Here are some reviews about us, by various world newspapers:

The New York Times (USA)
"..we were so drawn by Abruzzi’s enchanted landscapes that we returned in the spring."

The Brisbane Times (Australia)
"It is as if Tibet were bordered by California"

Wines of the New York Times (USA)
"Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is a good, solid, dependable wine"

The Times (UK)
"Abruzzo is the king of agrotourism"

The Guardian (UK)
"a corner of Italy which holds firmly on to to its unique identity. See it while you still can.

The Irish Times (Ireland)
"some of the most dizzyingly beautiful natural scenery"

The Sunday Telegraph (Australia)
"an instant reminder of that gentler life of yesteryear"

The Herald Tribune (UK)
"Consider montepulciano d'Abruzzo a world-class bargain"

Abruzzo is where I grew up, where one of the fiercest battles of World War Two was fought between Germans and Canadians, the so called "Battle of Ortona", and the place many people left after the war searching for a better life. Madonna's parents emigrated from Abruzzo as well.

Our land also holds oil. Not a lot, not of good quality, but in these times of greed and of "drill baby drill" every drop seems to be precious to the oil companies, it does not matter where it is, what else exists on the ground, what aspirations we people have, what we want for our land.

The image above is part of a larger winery and olive orchard estate that the Italian company ENI (NYSE:ENI) plans to uproot and where to build an oil refinery and an oil field, 500 meters from the sea, a few meters away from people's homes, farms, and livelihoods and using obsolete technology. Their plan is to drill 35% of Abruzzo, all along the coast, at the feet of la Majella and straight to the heart of national parks.

This is a story of political corruption, of greed, of big oil trumpeting over the rights of the people, of a government that does not listen to its own citizens. It is also a story of the love of common people for their land, united across ages, professions, political views, that stretches across continents thanks to the web and that keeps us going. None of us has much power as individuals, but as a community our fight is strong and we are determined to keep our land safe from ENI and its associates. Driven by the people's will and our activism a moratorium against drilling was passed and will protect our land until 2010. Our goal is to have a state wide moratorium for the next twenty years and to keep oil rigs away from our sea.

We want to keep Abruzzo the way it is today, green, peaceful and romantically drenched in nature for generations to come.

I have set up this blog so as to inform the English speaking community of what ENI, Petroceltic, MOG, Edison and other irresponsible and greedy oil company plan to do to our coastal and inland communities. If you have visited Abruzzo, if you can trace your roots back to us, if you simply want to fight for a just cause, the time and the chance to help is now.