Greenpeace boards Eni’s Prezioso platform (Gallery)

Exploration & Production

October 15, 2014

Activists from the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior have boarded the Prezioso offshore oil platform operated by the Italian oil company ENI in the Sicilian Channel.

The activists yesterday morning unfurled a 120 meter square banner depicting the Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, with a message saying: More Offshore Drilling For Italy and Greenpeace’s demand of: STOP FOSSIL, GO RENEWABLE.

Greenpeace says it is protesting against an Italian governmental decree that offers incentives for offshore drilling and asks Prime Minister Renzi to promote ambitious EU renewable energy targets.

Greenpeace Italy campaigner Andrea Boraschi said: “Italian national reserves of offshore oil are very scarce and of poor quality. Increasing offshore fossil production would represent a real menace to the Mediterranean environment and would derail Italy from the decarbonisation path, impacting on tourism and sustainable fisheries”.

“We will continue our protest, having gained strength and support from many local communities and local governments, as well as from European citizens. Italy should lead the EU to seriously tackle climate change, this is what we expect from the October meetings. Drilling the Mediterranean for a short supply of oil, in this scenario, should not be an option,” said Boraschi.