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| Wine, olives and crude oil | Wine, olives and crude oil |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Grapes grown in the region make Italy's famous Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wine By Stephanie Holmes BBC News, Ortona | Grapes grown in the region make Italy's famous Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wine By Stephanie Holmes BBC News, Ortona |
| Warmed by the sun, the famous Montepulciano d'Abruzzo grapes are slowly sweetening in vineyards that slope gently towards the sea. It seems an unlikely scene for a battle. | Warmed by the sun, the famous Montepulciano d'Abruzzo grapes are slowly sweetening in vineyards that slope gently towards the sea. It seems an unlikely scene for a battle. |
| Yet the fight over the future of this tiny patch of land in central Italy symbolises the conflict between the country's need for energy and its goal - affirmed once more at the G8 summit in the same region - to reduce its use of carbon-based fuels and protect the environment. | Yet the fight over the future of this tiny patch of land in central Italy symbolises the conflict between the country's need for energy and its goal - affirmed once more at the G8 summit in the same region - to reduce its use of carbon-based fuels and protect the environment. |
| Italy is one of the most energy-dependent states within the G8 - importing at least 80% of its oil and gas needs. It sources some 7% of its energy needs from oilfields within Italy, and the Abruzzo region is believed to have untapped supplies beneath its mountains, olive groves and beaches. | Italy is one of the most energy-dependent states within the G8 - importing at least 80% of its oil and gas needs. It sources some 7% of its energy needs from oilfields within Italy, and the Abruzzo region is believed to have untapped supplies beneath its mountains, olive groves and beaches. |
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| In the coastal town of Ortona, the struggle between an oil giant, local politicians and entrepreneurs on the one hand and web-savvy campaigners, residents and agriculturalists on the other over plans for an oil refinery in the middle of a prime, wine-producing land has reached a tense stalemate. | In the coastal town of Ortona, the struggle between an oil giant, local politicians and entrepreneurs on the one hand and web-savvy campaigners, residents and agriculturalists on the other over plans for an oil refinery in the middle of a prime, wine-producing land has reached a tense stalemate. |
| Walking along a white-pebbled beach lined by dense bamboo, Elga Tenaglia, a campaigner in her 30s, gestures out across the Adriatic Sea. | Walking along a white-pebbled beach lined by dense bamboo, Elga Tenaglia, a campaigner in her 30s, gestures out across the Adriatic Sea. |
| "I see these cargo ships - oil ships, I call them - and it disturbs me," she says. "Before, when I saw the sea I could breathe, I could relax. Not any more. Now I see them and it makes me think that things are about to change." | "I see these cargo ships - oil ships, I call them - and it disturbs me," she says. "Before, when I saw the sea I could breathe, I could relax. Not any more. Now I see them and it makes me think that things are about to change." |
| From wine to oil | From wine to oil |
| For years, the Italian oil giant ENI - one of the biggest firms in the country - has invested in this region, uncovering potential oil reserves off the coast and inland. | For years, the Italian oil giant ENI - one of the biggest firms in the country - has invested in this region, uncovering potential oil reserves off the coast and inland. |
| ENI has bought some 12 hectares of land near Ortona | ENI has bought some 12 hectares of land near Ortona |
| Campaigners from the conservation group WWF claim that now 50% of the region is being explored for oil - right to the edge of its vast national parks, home to a rare species of bear. | Campaigners from the conservation group WWF claim that now 50% of the region is being explored for oil - right to the edge of its vast national parks, home to a rare species of bear. |
| Just a few miles up the coast from the beach, ENI - in which the government holds a 30% golden share - has bought some 12 hectares of prime vineyard. | Just a few miles up the coast from the beach, ENI - in which the government holds a 30% golden share - has bought some 12 hectares of prime vineyard. |
| Supported by local politicians and businessmen keen to bring much-needed investment to the region, they chose this site to build an oil centre. It was, according to local officials, to be a desulphurisation plant, the first stage of purifying and filtering crude oil. | Supported by local politicians and businessmen keen to bring much-needed investment to the region, they chose this site to build an oil centre. It was, according to local officials, to be a desulphurisation plant, the first stage of purifying and filtering crude oil. |
| Oil on ice | Oil on ice |
| Down a bumpy track between rows of vines that overlook the sea, I find Lina, a 60-year-old farmer who sold some of her land to the oil company. Spray-painted to the wall of a store in the middle of the vineyard there is a message, telling ENI to "get out". | Down a bumpy track between rows of vines that overlook the sea, I find Lina, a 60-year-old farmer who sold some of her land to the oil company. Spray-painted to the wall of a store in the middle of the vineyard there is a message, telling ENI to "get out". |
| But, she tells me, she was under no pressure to sell her land, that it was a collective decision made by the farmers. "They say it's bad, this oil centre. Is it bad? They're not going to build it now, are they?" she asks, confused. | But, she tells me, she was under no pressure to sell her land, that it was a collective decision made by the farmers. "They say it's bad, this oil centre. Is it bad? They're not going to build it now, are they?" she asks, confused. |
| When it is over there won't be a future - no sea, no hills, no green. I don't want that - not for me but not for anyone else either. I'd fight this battle anywhere Elga Tenaglia, campaigner | When it is over there won't be a future - no sea, no hills, no green. I don't want that - not for me but not for anyone else either. I'd fight this battle anywhere Elga Tenaglia, campaigner |
| In May, ENI did indeed quietly announce that it would not go ahead with the Ortona plant. The news came as it announced plans to invest in the nearby University of L'Aquila - the city devastated by April's earthquake. | In May, ENI did indeed quietly announce that it would not go ahead with the Ortona plant. The news came as it announced plans to invest in the nearby University of L'Aquila - the city devastated by April's earthquake. |
| It pledged to look into the viability of building a heating plant, partly fuelled by biomass and "based on rigorous environmental sustainability standards" near the town. | It pledged to look into the viability of building a heating plant, partly fuelled by biomass and "based on rigorous environmental sustainability standards" near the town. |
| But, so far, despite repeated requests, it has refused to clarify its future plans for the Ortona site. | But, so far, despite repeated requests, it has refused to clarify its future plans for the Ortona site. |
| For the mayor of the town of Ortona, with a population of 23,000 and a faltering tourism industry, the company's decision to put the project on ice is a disaster. | For the mayor of the town of Ortona, with a population of 23,000 and a faltering tourism industry, the company's decision to put the project on ice is a disaster. |
| I meet Nicola Fratino under the clock of the small town's main square, as swallows dive overhead. He doesn't hide his fury at how a project he worked on for years has disappeared into thin air. | I meet Nicola Fratino under the clock of the small town's main square, as swallows dive overhead. He doesn't hide his fury at how a project he worked on for years has disappeared into thin air. |
| "It's a tragedy for this town," he says. "We've chased away the 16th largest corporation in the world from this region, we've said no to a company that wanted to invest 600 million euros here, we've lost 1,000 jobs and entrepreneurs like myself - and hundreds of others - are going to suffer massively." | "It's a tragedy for this town," he says. "We've chased away the 16th largest corporation in the world from this region, we've said no to a company that wanted to invest 600 million euros here, we've lost 1,000 jobs and entrepreneurs like myself - and hundreds of others - are going to suffer massively." |
| Allegations | Allegations |
| Campaigners allege that a firm linked to Mr Fratino, called Bonefra, stood to gain directly from ENI's presence in the region. They claim he won two contracts worth a total of more than one million euros from ENI. It is a claim he denies. ENI has refused to comment on the allegations. | Campaigners allege that a firm linked to Mr Fratino, called Bonefra, stood to gain directly from ENI's presence in the region. They claim he won two contracts worth a total of more than one million euros from ENI. It is a claim he denies. ENI has refused to comment on the allegations. |
| "First of all, I'm a shareholder, not a CEO of the firm. Bonefra - a company which, by the way, I only hold shares in, I'm not the CEO, never got a single contract - not for a million euros, not even... Listen, we took part in about 50 bids and I think we might have won one to manage the transfer of goods in the port for about four or five thousands euros, no more." | "First of all, I'm a shareholder, not a CEO of the firm. Bonefra - a company which, by the way, I only hold shares in, I'm not the CEO, never got a single contract - not for a million euros, not even... Listen, we took part in about 50 bids and I think we might have won one to manage the transfer of goods in the port for about four or five thousands euros, no more." |
| Mr Fratino insists it is a fight between sets of legitimate interests | Mr Fratino insists it is a fight between sets of legitimate interests |
| He said the plant would have brought valuable jobs to the region, as well as the massive investment the oil firm would have made to compensate for the environmental impact. | He said the plant would have brought valuable jobs to the region, as well as the massive investment the oil firm would have made to compensate for the environmental impact. |
| He even expresses grudging admiration for the work of campaigners - spearheaded by Italo-American physicist Maria-Rita d'Orsogna - whose flurry of blog postings, video clips and public meetings succeeded in raising public awareness of the project. | He even expresses grudging admiration for the work of campaigners - spearheaded by Italo-American physicist Maria-Rita d'Orsogna - whose flurry of blog postings, video clips and public meetings succeeded in raising public awareness of the project. |
| But why, I ask Ms Tenaglia, should Italy's pretty countryside be spared this fate for other places in the world to supply the country's energy needs? | But why, I ask Ms Tenaglia, should Italy's pretty countryside be spared this fate for other places in the world to supply the country's energy needs? |
| "The other day I read that they were going to build a refinery in the middle of the rainforest. And I thought - why am I complaining about what is happening here, in Abruzzo?" she says. | "The other day I read that they were going to build a refinery in the middle of the rainforest. And I thought - why am I complaining about what is happening here, in Abruzzo?" she says. |
| "But this oil, it'll be here for 20 years and then what? When it is over there won't be a future - no sea, no hills, no green. That's it. I don't want that - not for me but not for anyone else either. I'd fight this battle anywhere." | "But this oil, it'll be here for 20 years and then what? When it is over there won't be a future - no sea, no hills, no green. That's it. I don't want that - not for me but not for anyone else either. I'd fight this battle anywhere." |