Shadow courts
The central Italian region of Abruzzo reaches from the peaks of the Apennines all the way down to the Adriatic coast. The Discover Italy tourism website rhapsodizes over its natural reserves, famous for wildlife, national parks and miles of stunning Trabocchi coastline. It’s described as the ‘greenest region’ in the country with sun-seekers flocking there throughout the summer.
But Abruzzo’s natural reserves aren’t limited to beaches and national parks: the Ombrina Mare oil field lies less than 10 kilometres off the coast, discovered in 2007 by the Mediterranean Oil & Gas (MOG) company. In 2014, UK-based Rockhopper Exploration acquired MOG and, along with it, the licence to drill.
Meanwhile, Italian civil society took to the streets to protest. Enrico Gagliano, founder of the ‘No Triv’ (No Exploration) Movement explained what prompted the opposition: ‘One day in 2008, we saw a small platform sticking out of the coast. An abomination. We asked ourselves what on earth it was, we joined forces, we started asking the authorities, we made ourselves heard.’
In 2013, in the city of Pescara, 40,000 people marched under the ‘No Ombrina’ slogan. By 2015 the numbers of protesters had grown; the town of Lanciano saw a demonstration by 60,000 people. Civil-society organizations, dioceses, local municipalities and the staff of the celebrated national parks all added their voices.
Concerns about damage to the environment and the risk of oil spills were raised alongside questions as to how the Italian government could claim to be reducing the use of fossil fuels while at the same time approving a drilling licence. Faced with such pressure and contradictions, in 2015 the Italian parliament decided not to allow any oil and gas extraction so close to the coast, thus spelling the end of the Ombrina Mare project. Or so they thought.
In 2017 Rockhopper filed a lawsuit against the Italian government, under the little-known Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). A verdict is yet to be announced but Rockhopper is demanding compensation for the investments the company has made to date. Under the ECT, companies can not only claim compensation for lost investments due to a policy change, but also for potential future lost profits – in this case as much as $200-$300 million.1 Through arbitration in Washington, Rockhopper has requested $275 million – only 29 per cent of this is for money already spent, the rest is for lost profits.
Investigate Europe asked Rockhopper about the case but they told us they had no new statements beyond what had already been released.
A chilling effect
Italy left the ECT in 2016, but under a 20-year sunset clause can be sued until 2036 for investments made prior to that date – as is happening with Rockhopper. It is feared that, depending on the outcome, more companies could follow Rockhopper’s lead.
Environmental groups and other
