Mediterranean Oil & Gas welcomes Italy law change

Mediterranean Oil & Gas said it now push on with plans for a concession in the Central Asiatic after changes to Italian laws governing offshore drilling came into force.

Italy introduced offshore drilling restrictions in 2010 following the Macondo disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Changes to these rules now mean restrictions on offshore exploration and production activities will apply to activities up to 12 miles offshore the Italian coastline.

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However, applications for production concessions that were under review at the time the rules came into force will no longer be covered.

Dr. Bill Higgs, Chief Executive of Mediterranean Oil and Gas, said the publication of the new Italian law allowed the company to look forward to continuing with the development of its Ombrina Mare field, which was a project that is of considerable strategic importance to the company.

"We are already working closely with the regulatory authorities to progress the award of the production concession.," he said.

"Our development of Ombrina Mare field in a safe and environmentally responsible manner will yield a very positive contribution to the Italian and local economies," he added.

The firm also announced it had secured the Maltese government's permission to buy up the final 10% of Malta Offshore Area 4 PSC that it didn't already own, from Leni Oil and Gas.

It said this could help facilitate the current farm out process in respect of the licence and enable the company to pursue the further exploration of the licence more effectively.