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.

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.

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!!

Our first victory against Mediterranean Oil and Gas

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.

TO Mediterranean oil and gas investors, regarding Ombrina Mare

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.