Italian Project Set for Go-ahead

British upstream oil and gas company Sound Oil has cleared regulatory hurdles for its Nervesa site in northern Italy, which is expected to go into production by the end of the year.

A required Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) had gained approval, the company announced yesterday. The province of Treviso gave the go-ahead after studying the EIA. Final approval from the Italian Ministry of Economic Development is anticipated in the next few weeks.

Formal operations at the site will then commence with a view to commencing drilling around the end of the year.

James Parsons, Sound Oil's CEO, said: "Nervesa is a flagship project for Sound Oil with an independently estimated value approximately equivalent to the company's current market capitalisation. This approval starts the countdown to well spud, which Sound Oil is targeting around the end of the year."