2016 Italian oil drilling referendum
 | This article documents a current election. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (April 2016) |
A referendum on oil and natural gas drilling will be held in Italy on 17 April 2016.[1] The referendum proposes repealing the law that allows oil drilling concessions extracting Hydrocarbon within 12 nautical miles of the Italian coast to be prolonged until the exhaustion of the useful life of the fields.
It will be the first referendum requested by at least five Regional Councils in the history of the Italian Republic: all the previous 66 referendum questions since 1974 were required after collection of signatures of citizens.
Background
The search for hydrocarbon liquids and/or gases in the Italian sea is possible - with some restrictions for the coastal and environmental protection - only in certain "marine areas" identified by the Italian Parliament or by the Ministry of Economic Development. From 2013 are prohibited new drilling in the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the marine protected areas and in the waters within 12 nautical miles from the coast; however, the concessions approved before 2013 may continue until all of the resources can be extracted.
Italy authorized a total of 79 offshore platforms: 31 are located over 12 miles from and 48 within 12 miles.
Off-shore production of hydrocarbons in Italy
Within 12 miles, 9 concessions are authorized (with 39 platforms) and their permits has expired and they asked for an extension: if the "yes" will win in the referendum, the 9 expired concessions can not be extended): during 2015 those installations extracted about 622 million cubic meters of natural gas (equivalent to 9% of the national production and 1.1% of total consumption in 2014).
Always under the 12 mile, there are 17 other concessions expiring from 2017 to 2027, which in 2015 extracted 1.21 billion cubic meters of gas (17.6% of national production and 2.1 % of national consumption in 2014) and 500,000 tons of oil (about 9.1% of national production and 0.8% of consumption in 2014). These concessions, in the event of victory of 'yes' in the referendum, will not be extended after 2027.
| Marine zone (Region) |
Natural gas (Sm³) |
Natural gasoline (Kg) |
Petroleum (Kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A – Emilia-Romagna[A 1] | 935,758,382 | 140,487 | 0 |
| B – Marche and Abruzzo[A 2] | 54,004,511 | 436,237 | 295,826,731 |
| C – Sicily[A 3] | 4,625,021 | 0 | 247,054,152 |
| D – Calabria[A 4] | 622,667,455 | 0 | 0 |
| Total production within 12 nautical miles (2015)[2] | 1,518,932,151 | 576,724 | 542,880,883 |
| Production percentage of the national consumption | 2,27% | 0,91% | |
| National consumption (2015) | ~66,900,000,000[3] | 59,809,999,998[4] | |
Referendum initiative
The referendum was proposed by several regional governments after the national government passed a law allowing drilling concessions to last until oilfields or gasfields are empty.[5] On 19 January 2016 the Constitutional Court approved the referendum.[5] On 12 February the Five Star Movement asked President Sergio Mattarella to delay the referendum until June to allow it to be held alongside local elections in order to raise turnout and save money.[6]
Opinion polls
| Date | Polling firm | Customer |  Yes |
 No |
Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9-11 Dec 2015 | Ixè | Greenpeace | 72.3 | 27.7 | 44.6 |
| 15-16 Feb 2016 | SWG | Regions and Autonomous Provinces Legislative Assemblies Presidents Forum | 78.0 | 22.0 | 56.0 |
| 22 Mar 2016 | Demòpolis[7] | La7 - Otto e mezzo | 74.0 | 26.0 | 48.0 |
| 28 Mar 2016 | Istituto Piepoli[8] | Istituto Piepoli | 82.3 | 17.7 | 64.6 |
Notes
- ^ Concessions: A.C 1.AG, A.C 2.AS, A.C 3.AS, A.C 4.AS, A.C 5.AV, A.C 8.ME, A.C 17.AG, A.C 21.AG, A.C 26.EA, A.C 27.EA, A.C 29.EA, A.C 30.EA e CERVIA MARE.
- ^ Concessions: B.C 1.LF, B.C 3.AS, B.C 5.AS, B.C 7.LF e B.C 8.LF.
- ^ Concessions: C.C 1.AG, C.C 3.AG e C.C 6.AG.
- ^ Concessions: D.C 1.AG e D.C 4.AG.
References
- ^ Cabinet sets drilling referendum Apr 17 ANSA, 11 February 2016
- ^ a b "Elenco delle piattaforme marine e strutture assimilabili - entro 12 miglia". Ministero dello sviluppo economico. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
- ^ "I consumi di gas in Italia tornano a crescere dopo 4 anni". Qualenergia. 2016-01-12.
- ^ "Consumi petroliferi mensili 2015". Unione petrolifera. 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
- ^ a b Italy's constitutional court gives green light to referendum on drilling Reuters, 19 January 2016
- ^ M5S appeals to Mattarella on drilling ANSA, 12 February 2016
- ^ La7 - Otto e mezzo, ed. (2016-03-26). "La sfida delle trivelle" (in Italian).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link) - ^ "Gestione Domande e Risposte Sondaggio". www.sondaggipoliticoelettorali.it. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
