NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A LICENCE TO EXPLORE FOR OIL AND GAS DESIGNATED PETRALIA SOPRANA

REPUBLIC OF ITALY — REGION OF SICILY

REGIONAL MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY — REGIONAL DEPARTMENT OF MINING

REGIONAL OFFICE FOR HYDROCARBONS AND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY (U.R.I.G.)

2009/C 173/10

On 9 April 2008, in accordance with Sicilian Regional Law No 14 of 3 July 2000, which transposes and applies Directive 94/22/EC, EniMed — Eni Mediterranea Idrocarburi S.p.A., with its registered office at Gela CL, Strada Statale 117 bis, 93012 Contrada Ponte Olivo and Tax Code 12300000150, applied to the Regional Minister for Industry, the competent authority for granting mining rights in the Region of Sicily, at Via Ugo La Malfa 87/89, 90146 Palermo PA, ITALY, for a licence to prospect for oil and gas in an area conventionally known as ‘Petralia Soprana’, extending over 72 750 ha (727,50 km2) in central-northern Sicily within the provinces of Palermo, Caltanisetta and Enna. The above area is bordered to the west by the territory of the ‘Casteltermini’ licence (EniMed 100 %), to the north-west by that of the ‘Montemaggiore Belsito’ licence application and in the other directions by unlicensed territories.

The Palermo Province municipalities concerned are: Alimena, Blufi, Bompietro, Caltavuturo, Castellana Sicula, Gangi, Geraci Siculo, Petralia Soprana, Petralia Sottana and Polizzi Generosa. The Caltanissetta Province municipalities concerned are: Caltanissetta, Resuttano and S. Caterina Villarmosa. The Enna Province municipalities concerned are: Calascibetta, Enna, Leonforte, Nicosia, Sperlinga and Villarosa.

The perimeter of the area for which the licence is requested is delineated by continuous lines between points A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and I, as defined below:

Geographical coordinates

Interested parties may submit an application for a licence for this area within 90 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Official Journal of the European Union; applications received after that period will be deemed inadmissible. The Decree granting the exploration licence will be issued within six months of the closing date for the submission of competing applications. With reference to Article 5(1) of Directive 94/22/EC, notice is also given that the criteria for granting prospection licences, exploration licences and production licences have already been published in Official Journal of the European Communities C 396 of 19 December 1998, with reference to Legislative Decree of the President of the Republic No 625 of 25 November 1996 (published in Official State Gazette of the Italian Republic No 293 of 14 December 1996), which transposes and implements the above-mentioned Directive in Italian law, and were specified in the above-mentioned Sicilian Regional Law No 14 of 3 July 2000 (published in Official Gazette of the Region of Sicily No 32 of 7 July 2000).

The conditions and requirements regarding performance or cessation of activities are laid down in the above-mentioned Sicilian Regional Law No 14 of 3 July 2000 and in the Standard Specifications issued by Decree No 91 of 30 October 2003 and Decree No 88 of 20 October 2004 of the Regional Minister for Industry and published in Official Gazette of the Region of Sicily Part I, No 49 of 14 November 2003 and Part I, No 46 of 5 November 2004 respectively.

The application documents have been deposited at the Regional Office for Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy of the Regional Mining Department at Via Ugo La Malfa 101, 90146 Palermo PA, ITALY, where they may be consulted by any interested party.