We won!

Dear Rockhopper Exploration investors...

WE WON!

Ombrina is dead. And thanks to our protests, not only is Ombrina dead, so are 26 other oil and gas leases. To kill Ombrina, the Italian government had to re-instate a 12 mile buffer zone around the entire Italian coastline that effectively halted all those other projects. To summarize:

2007-2010 -- The Oil Center proposed by ENI in the town of Ortona, Abruzzo a desulfurizing unit with at least 3 oil wells, is dead;

2009-2015 -- The desulfurizing unit proposed by Forest Oil Corporation in the town of Bomba, Abruzzo with at least 5 gas wells, is dead;  The Forest Oil Corporation is also dead. It was bought by Sabine oil who also declared bankruptcy.

2008-2016 -- Ombrina Mare with 4-6 oil wells and a desulfurizing FPSO unit, as proposed by Mediterannean Oil and Gas and later by Rockhopper Corporation is dead; Mediterranean Oil and Gas is also dead.

Abruzzo has now a law banning onshore oil drilling.

Italy has now a law banning offshore drilling within 12 miles from shore.

About time you guys started investing in solar, don't you think?

From the American leader of the NoOilAbruzzo campaign to Rockhopper investors

Dear Romaron, Grewber, Desireoil3009, livic1971, oneday2soon, rpoodle, Robpug_uk, markednnmbr1, and all friends

My name is Maria D'Orsogna, and some of you already know me, as in your posts you describe me with these words: "the leader of the NoOilAbruzzo campaign is an American living in California." 

Indeed, I am a physicist and a professor of Mathematics and Biomathematics in Los Angeles. I lived in Abruzzo for ten years when I was young. Here is my story.

I see there is much interest on your part in making a quick buck out of Ombrina Mare. My answer to you: Not gonna happen.

We have been fighting this for years now, at least since 2008 and, the "delays" that Mediterranean Oil and Gas experienced, and that ultimately caused its demise, were largely due to our protests. Not sure Rockhopper Exploration will have a better fate in regards to Ombrina.

We are not a bunch of lunatics. We are simply citizens that do not want oil rigs and a desulfurizing unit to be built 4 miles from shore. And I am sure that if they came up with a proposal like that for wherever you guys go to the beach, you would not like it either. 

Ombrina Mare and its FPSO will spit 200 tons of garbage in the atmosphere every single day, according to your own Environmental Statements.

Of course we don't like it, and you would not either.

There are a lot of us. Everyone in Abruzzo is opposed to this. From the Catholic church to rasta-haired youth groups, from the local tourist industry to coastal mayors, regardless of their political affiliation.

Sergio Morandi could come this far, just because of the corruption and disorganization that plagues Italy, but, as you can see, we were able to derail this project for at least eight years now. Ombrina was supposed to be operational in Q4 2008.

We are still here.

I am still here. 

We have read, we have dissected every document that Sergio Morandi produced, and called him out to his own myths and propaganda on local TV stations and media.

I personally even wrote several articles about the evils of Ombrina Mare on the national press. You can read some of it here.

All those "facts" and "true or false" websites that Rockhopper is putting up are direct answers to the scientific, indisputable facts that I, an independent scientist, came up with.

People believed me and not the oil companies because I am not out there to make money off this and because the evidence is crystal clear. Sergio Morandi, and you people, on the other hand have vested interests, i.e. money. SO the best you can do is to present untenable arguments in favor of drilling.

Deep down you all know it is crazy, absolutely crazy to drill oil rigs and anchor an FPSO so close to a naturalistic sea line, but I guess guys for you money is stronger than ethics and commonsense.

Sergio Morandi did not take any of my activism nicely and thinks he can scare me away. Not going to happen either.

So, why do you insist on coming to our communities and destroying it? Is the prospect of money so alluring that you have let go of every tenet of human decency and want to force your presence in a place where you are unwanted?

Go drill your own beaches! Leave us alone.

What are you going to tell your kids, your families? That you made money by bullying a peaceful community? That you don't give a damn about climate change and that while the entire planet is talking about keeping fossil fuels in the ground, you have the gall to come to a foreign country and forcefully drill?

Aren't you people ashamed of yourselves?
What planet are you going to leave to future generations?

I have sacrificed eight years of my life fighting Ombrina, and ENI before them, but there is some pride in having taken on oil giants and in having tried to do the right thing, despite how hard it was to balance it all.

And I did it for love. We sent ENI packing. We sent Forest Oil Corporation packing.

To me, you are the face of what greed does to people.

It is interesting that none of you even have the courage to come out with your real name.  Maybe you are a bit embarrassed after all. 

I am not sure how long this will last, and I don't know who will prevail at the end. Maybe indeed, your lack of respect will allow you to able to drill. I don't know.

But this I will tell you: we won't give up until the very end, and if it does turn out that Mediterranean Oil and Gas, or Rockhopper Exploration or whatever your name is, will eventually be able to drill our beautiful Abruzzo, it is just because, in my opinion, you were bullies to us, shameless bullies of the worst kind.

---

To your lawyers that so hate me: this post was written in Los Angeles, California. Freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.

Mr Morandi, still waiting for you to abide by court rulings. 

The guru was wrong!

Dear Mr. Tom Bulford and friends, despite your arrogance in thinking you could outsmart us all, I guess this was not a wise investment on your part!

Ombrina will never go through.

Never!

We simply will not allow it. Perhaps the UK press does not report this, but Italians are adamantly against offshore drilling.

And yes, you think that Passera is pro-drilling, but you see, he was not elected and will not be able to lift the ban without huge political consequences.

I myself went to testify to the Italian Senate about the dangers of offshore drilling - they were considering lifting it, but they did not succeed.

It is too much of a political hot button, and they can't touch it: at this time, despite the British know it alls, who really know nothing about Italy, lifting the ban would be equivalent to political suicide in Italy.

So dump all of your stock and let MOG and Ombrina Mare rest in peace.

Let Sergio Morandi, Mr Wise Guy Tom Bulford and whoever was foolish enough
to put their money into MOG, cry their tears.

This is what you get for thinking that money trumps over people.

And, by the way, neither Northern Petroleum nor Petroceltic will get their way, I promise you.

So just take what's left of your money AND DISAPPEAR!!!!!

--------------------

The guru, Tom Bulford one year ago:

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.

But aside from following the lead of the USA there is another very good reason why Italy might be keen to revise its rules, allowing Ombrina Mare to go ahead. This is that Italy has traditionally depended quite heavily upon supply of oil from Libya. ENI is the biggest foreign oil producer in Libya, and has relied upon its operations here for 15% of its output.

Recently, ENI reported an 8.6% drop in production in the first quarter and said that its production for 2011 as a whole will be down because of the situation in Libya.

Faced with this strategic dilemma the Italian government may well backtrack on its offshore drilling ban. In any case, it somehow seems unlikely to me that 40m barrels of oil, lying a few miles offshore, will simply go to waste.

Red Hot Verdict: Mediterranean Oil & Gas is at a low point in its history, but its troubles are more to do with finance than with its assets and operations. The financial restructuring has swept away the dark clouds of possible bankruptcy, while a lifting of the ban on Ombrina Mare would transform the picture. With a target of 30p and a potential return of 176%, BUY UP TO 12p.
---------

The guru, Tom Bulford today, April 2012:




Red Hot Penny Shares made a 48% loss…

We bought into Mediterranean Oil & Gas on the basis that the Italian Government might lift its off-shore drilling ban, which would allow Mediterranean Oil & Gas to develop its Ombrina Mare permit. The new Italian Government has had time to look at this issue, but there is no indication that it will lift the ban. It may yet happen, but MOG has been in the portfolio for almost a year and we cannot wait forever. SELL

Victory at Bomba

Mr Craig Clark, CEO of the Forest Oil Corporation

Mr Giorgio Mazzenga, of the Forest Oil Corporation, Italy

 GIVE IT UP!

Citizens of a small town in Abruzzo, Italy win big in environmental governing body's decision against proposed gas extraction that would pollute pristine region's land, water, and air.

 

(1888PressRelease) April 13, 2012 - The people of Abruzzo, Italy have once again scored a giant victory in their David versus Goliath fight against Denver-based oil giant Forest Oil Corporation, in their quest to protect one of Europe's most biodiverse regions.

On April 10th, 2012, the Commission for Environmental Impact Evaluation in Abruzzo, headed by Mr. Antonio Sorgi, unanimously rejected gas drilling and refining plans as proposed by the Forest Oil Corporation, headed by CEO Craig Clark, after a prolonged awareness campaign involving residents and activists.

According to public documents, the American oil giant had begun considering drilling a first cluster of five gas wells, a refinery, and multiple waste pits back in 2008. The company had anticipated extracting a total of at least 50 billion cubic feet of natural gas containing high levels of hydrogen sulfide to be refined 200 meters from the nearest residence in Bomba, Abruzzo, population 900.

Bomba sits along the banks of a popular recreational lake by the Parco Nazionale della Majella, a scenic national park that draws local and international visitors due its pristine environment and breathtaking views. Its economy is largely driven by agriculture and tourism.

Residents reacted strongly to drilling plans and uncovered Forest Oil Corporation's reports, according to which drilling could pose severe hydro-geological risks to a highly unstable, seismic area prone to subsidence and landslides. The project also called for the emission of pollutants from the refinery exceeding Italian legal limits, which would permeate the town center.
Official statements in opposition to drilling by the Forest Oil Corporation were filed by nineteen municipalities in the area, the Province of Chieti, the Catholic Church, the World Wildlife Federation, the Union of Merchants and Tourist Operators, and dozens of local organizations as well as the heirs of American author John Fante.

In a last-ditch effort to gather public support, executives from the Forest Oil Corporation visited Bomba in August 2011. They were confronted with incensed residents, who asked cogent questions that the Forest Oil executives were incapable of addressing. Later, the company stated that it was the first time in their 95-year history that they had received such informed and firm opposition from a local population.

The campaign to save Bomba is part of an ongoing effort to save Abruzzo, Europe's green heart, from turning into a giant oil field. The campaign has been largely coordinated by Professor Maria Rita D'Orsogna, a California resident with origins in Abruzzo. In the past five years, this international activism has led to the rejection of another oil field and refinery in Ortona, sponsored by Italian oil giant ENI, and of the Ombrina Mare oil rig proposed by Mediterranean Oil and Gas of London.

In a brazen act of defiance against Italian officials and the unanimous will of local population, the Forest Oil Corporation of Denver plans to appeal.

The Forest Oil Corporation: a ticking oil bomb over Bomba

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
-------------------

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

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!

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

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

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

"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

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!

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.