Drill and be damned? - Geologist warns of oil exploration risks

A leading Italian geologist has warned of the catastrophic dangers posed by offshore drilling in the seabed around Malta in the absence of studies assessing the "volcanic and seismic" instability of the seabed in the Sicilian Channel.

Carlo Cassaniti is the vice-president of the Ordine Geologi Sicilia, the officially recognised body representing professional geologists in Sicily. A lecturer at the University of Catania, he also serves as the regional government's expert on mining in the entity responsible for issuing permits for any extracting activity on the ground.

Cassaniti - who has joined an appeal by Greenpeace, Lega Ambiente and the World Wildlife Fund in calling on Italy to stop offshore drilling in the Sicilian Channel - has called on the scientific community to produce a map clearly outlining the danger levels posed by volcanic and seismic activity in different areas of the channel.

In an exclusive interview with MaltaToday, Cassaniti expressed his concern for the scramble for oil royalties between Malta, Italy and Libya.

Malta is currently engaged in discussions on possible joint exploration bids with both Italy and Libya, two countries which have made rival claims to territory identified by Malta for its oil exploration ambitions.

Two wells are set to be drilled in undisputed waters early next year, one to the south of Malta (Ħaġar Qim 1) in Area 4 and the other to its north, in Area 3.

Cassaniti singles out a decree issued in December 2012, through which the Monti government annexed an oil exploration zone previously belonging to Malta.

Asked specifically about the areas identified by Malta for its oil exploration activities, Cassaniti replied that the island is surrounded by geological faults which are known to trigger marine earthquakes not felt on the ground but which still occur at a certain frequency. 

He has now warned that oil drilling in this sensitive environment could result in devastating accidents like that involving BP's offshore drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico on the east coast of the USA.

It's a scenario that would represent the death knell for Malta, which gets more than half of its potable water supply from the sea and is economically dependent on tourism.

The rush for oil

Over the past years successive Italian governments authorised oil exploration activities on 42 sites along the Sicilian coast to the consternation of Italian environmentalists, fishermen and local governments.

In complete contrast to Malta, where environmentalists have been largely silent on this issue, the so-called 'No Triv' movement is a force to be reckoned with in Sicilian regional politics. Most Sicilian mayors, including those of Palermo and Catania, are backing an appeal to stop oil exploration. Fishermens' organisations have also backed these calls, fearing the obliteration of their industry if an incident takes place.

Faced with growing opposition to offshore drilling in July, Italy's Environment Minister, Andrea Orlando, expressed his own preoccupation with "the race to drill holes in the Mediterranean Sea."

Cassaniti has recently added the weight of his scientific knowledge to these concerns.

"I am mostly concerned because of the absence of any serious planning on extractive activities conducted in the sea," Cassaniti told MaltaToday, complaining of the lack of any consultation with the local communities which live on the coast bordering on the Sicilian Channel. 

An expert to Sicily's regional council on mining activities on the ground, which are subject to a rigorous permit system, Cassaniti insists that the same rules applying to surface territories should apply to the land submerged under the sea.

"I would also like to use the knowledge applied to assessing the risks of mining on land to the seabed," Cassaniti said.

"I am sceptical on oil exploration, as it tends to divert the focus away from renewable energy, which is both clean and inexhaustible. Malta should be particularly concerned about the impact of offshore drilling. An island which depends for its water supply on converting seawater to freshwater cannot permit the risk of an oil petroleum disaster on the scale of what has already happened in the Gulf of Mexico."

He also warned that this would represent the end for both tourism and the local fishing industry.

Due to man-made activities, 600,000 tonnes of petroleum are already released into the sea. These amount to 15% of the total amount of petroleum released into the sea globally.

Asked specifically if the geological risks which he warned about in Italian waters also apply to the zones identified by Malta for its oil exploration activities, Cassaniti replied in the affirmative.

"Yes, the entire Sicilian Channel is characterised by an elevated seismic danger due to the presence of submarine volcanoes and important tectonic structures."

Cassaniti singled out the Malta Graben, a deep trench between tectonic plates on the northeast of the island in the direction of Pantelleria, as an example of geologically sensitive areas. He also pointed out the various geological faults around the Maltese islands "which frequently result in submarine earthquakes, even if these are not detectable by men due to their instrumental nature."

He said that these geological features are already marked in all geological maps of the Sicilian Channel. "But these have still to be located in a more precise way, and this requires more detailed studies and a continuous monitoring of seismic activities in the area."

Cassaniti warned that in past years oil exploration activities have taken place without any consideration of the "complex dynamics" of the seabed. "There is a lack of studies on these geological dangers when permits are issued for oil exploration and a lack of consideration on the impact of coastal areas in the event of volcanic explosions or earthquakes hitting an oil exploration zone."

Cassiniti firmly believes that the geological community is in a position to draw up a map outlining the level of danger posed by volcanic and tectonic activity in the seabed.

"Geologists can now apply the experience they have in planning the geological risks on round land, most of which was previously submerged in prehistoric times. This would enable us to conduct scientific studies, which finally result in the publication of a map outlining the various levels of risks posed by tectonic plate movements and volcanic activities in different areas of the Sicilian Channel."

But despite the high level of risk involved, Italy is actively encouraging oil exploration activities.

"This is part of an energy policy which defies that of other countries which are focusing on renewable energy. The aim of this policy is re-launching the national production of petroleum products."

Cassaniti singles out a decree issued by the government presided over by Mario Monti in June 2012, which paved the way for oil exploration activities along the Italian coastline. He also refers to Italy's decision in December 2012 to annex an area south of Sicily and east of Malta, which previously fell under Malta's jurisdiction, for its oil exploration activities.

"Through this decree, with a stroke of the pen, the Monti government extended its oil exploration research to an area south of Sicily and east of Malta which previously fell under the exclusive competence of the Maltese government, formally occupying a slice of water which was already colonised."

It was only after this coup that Italy expressed its disposition to open a joint negotiation with the Maltese "to divide the Sicilian Channel".

"The problem will probably be that of how to eventually divide royalties from the petroleum companies. For me, considering the dangers involved, this is incredible."

Added to this are claims over the same territory by Libya, which Cassaniti says call for a regional body that involves both EU member states and North African countries like Libya, to govern oil exploration in this sensitive region.

On a positive note, he says that in June the European Commission issued the EU directive regulating offshore gas and oil drilling, a direct response to the eye-opening BP incident in the Gulf of Mexico.

"The new draft includes new rules regulating oil exploration and drilling, which clearly state that only companies issued with a permit by independent authorities can engage in these oil explorations."

The new directive also requires the formulation of plans related to security. Companies must also be in a position to pay compensation for any environmental damage. The directive foresees the cooperation of member states in the event of an incident. Member states have been given two years to implement this directive.