Oil and gas activities in Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy): land deformation and territory protection

Emilia-Romagna currently ranks third in Italy for the production of methane, hosts five gas storage reservoirs, and over ten exploration permits have been requested. Land deformation, and particularly subsidence, is one of the issues in oil and gas activities concerning hydrocarbon production that most worries both stakeholders and the local population alike. Subsidence can induce negative impacts on the efficiency of a hydrographic network (natural and artificial), coastal erosion, and building stability. In order to counteract subsidence and ensure the maximum protection for the territory, the Emilia-Romagna Authority follows a precise set of rules in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure, which require that companies implement a mathematical forecasting model for subsidence to verify any damage caused by subsidence and define an integrated land deformation monitoring with the precision of one millimetre a year. Once hydrocarbon production has begun, if the measured subsidence exceeds the calculated subsidence, the competent authority (Ministry and Regions) together with the oil and gas companies involved, will consider the possibility to modify or stop the production.