The Office of the Prime Minister has avoided questions on the existence of an informal oil exploration moratorium between Malta and Italy over vast disputed areas of the continental shelf southeast of the island.
The OPM was asked to confirm a declaration by Italian Ambassador Giovanni de Vito that there is a “gentleman’s agreement” between the two countries under which no licences will be issued in the 18,000 square kilometre zone until a formal agreement on possible joint exploration is reached.
The spokesman for the OPM was also asked for details about the moratorium, when it was agreed and why the government had not informed the public about it.
In his reply, the spokesman did not refer to the moratorium but said: “As stated by the Italian Ambassador, there is no formal agreement on oil exploration between Malta and Italy and negotiations are ongoing.
“Both countries are engaged in constructive discussions and enhancing confidence building with the aim of agreeing on joint activity,” the spokesman said.
Bilateral meetings are still taking place between Malta and Italy but no agreement has been signed yet
The minister responsible for oil exploration, Joe Mizzi, also told the Times of Malta discussions with Italy on possible joint exploration in the disputed area were ongoing.
“Bilateral meetings are still taking place between Malta and Italy but no agreement has been signed yet,” his spokesperson said.
“No licences have been granted by Italy on Malta’s continental shelf as far as the government of Malta is aware.”In 2007, Malta granted an exploration licence in the disputed area to Heritage Oil.
However, although in 2012 the company had said it was aiming to drill a well in Area 7, where it found good prospects of striking oil and gas, the company has refrained from drilling yet.
The Italian Ambassador has told this newspaper that Italy had protested to the Maltese government over the licence granted to Heritage Oil and had insisted that “no unilateral actions should be taken by Malta and Italy on the disputed area”.
Asked whether Malta had taken action to abide by the agreed moratorium, Ambassador De Vito said that so far “respect for the gentlemen’s agreement prevailed”.
At the end of 2012, the Italian government enacted a law that unilaterally doubling the area of its continental shelf, stretching from the southeast of Sicily towards Libya.
This decision significantly affected Malta’s maritime territory as it stepped into large areas of the island’s continental shelf and particularly on two blocks close to Libya with the highest potential for oil and gas reserves.Malta had formally protested and the two governments started technical discussions aimed at finding a solution, including the possibility of joint oil exploration in the disputed areas.
In November 2013, then Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced that discussions were close to being concluded.
However, there have been no further developments since then.
Despite speculation in the Italian media that Malta and Italy had reached an informal agreement covering migration and oil exploration, both Italy and Malta have vehemently denied any connection between the two issues.