Reuters AlertNet Lite - Sicilian valley wins battle against gas wells

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Sicilian valley wins battle against gas wells

17 Jun 2007 15:04:19 GMT
Source: Reuters

ROME, June 17 (Reuters) - In a victory for environmentalists and local residents, a Franco-American oil and gas company has backed down over plans to dig wells in a Sicilian valley famed for its baroque churches and palaces.

Texas-based Panther Eureka <PTHR.OB> <MAUP.PA> announced it would avoid drilling in the Noto valley, in the southern part of the Italian island, after protesters led by writer Andrea Camilleri launched a campaign to protect the area's cultural heritage.

The eight cities and towns in the Noto valley are considered jewels of baroque architecture. The area was mostly flattened by an earthquake in 1693 and rebuilt in the ornate style of the time. It was added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2002.

Panther Eureka said it had decided to cut the wells planned in the region by 2010 to eight from 21 and it would avoid the Val di Noto.

The company, which won authorisation to look for oil and gas in Sicily in 1994, said its wells would not have damaged any heritage sites but it decided to scale back its plans to avoid controversy.

"It's a victory for good sense, a return to reason," said Camilleri, Italy's most successful living writer and a born-and-bred Sicilian.

During his campaign against the drilling he had said it "would completely destroy, in one stroke, landscape and history, culture and identity, beauty and harmony -- in one word the best we have."

The company's climbdown was also welcomed by local Sicilian politicians and by Environment Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio.

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Last updated:Sun Jun 17 15:05:36 2007