In 2009, the environmental recovery process at the 44 sites under reclamation (5,000 hectares) owned by Syndial went on as follows:

• in all sites, activities aimed at preventing environmental contamination were completed. At the petrochemical sites in Mantua, Ferrara, Brindisi, Priolo, Gela and Sarroch hydraulic barriers and pumps were used to protect the waters;
• at 5 sites (Villadossola, Cesano Maderno, S. Giuseppe, Terni, Ferrandina), reclamation activities were completed;
• at 5 sites, classified as site of national interest (Porto Marghera, Cengio Manfredonia, Priolo and Sardinian mining sites) reclamation projects, approved by the Italian Ministry of the Environment, are underway;
• at the remaining sites, reclamation projects proposals were submitted to the competent authorities and authorizations are pending.

In 2009, in the Exploration & Production sector, a pilot project was completed in Egypt with the reclamation technique Biopiling: the project for a complete reclamation, which will require no less than 5 years, is under way. This technique will be applied to the Belamyn field, also in Egypt.
In the refining sector, the environmental restoration of the fuels distribution network has continued: in 2009, 134 sales point, out of a total of 615, have completed reclamation activities. Reclamation at Refineries, at industrial sites of Gela, Taranto, Venezia, Sannazzaro and Priolo) and at sites and storages are continuing ( in 2009 20 sits out of 90 have completed remediation activities).

During 2008 reclamation was completed at the Cengio site (Savona) of more than 200,000 m2 of land that will be made available for new industrial development, at an estimated cost of around €300 million.

Reclamation work
The realisation of this complex and significant reclamation operation, unique of its kind in Italy, in addition to Eni personnel, involved leading Italian and European companies with extensive use of local labour: overall, around 300 people were employed to render the entire area safe.

This has resulted in the realisation of two objectives, the environmental recovery of the area and the industrial re-launch, providing jobs as per the Programme Agreement signed in December 2000 by Syndial with the ministries of the environment, industry and health, with the Liguria and Piedmont regional councils and the Delegated Commissioner.

With this and similar initiatives, Eni confirms its strong commitment to the sustainable reclamation of disused industrial areas, giving back to the territory important areas for new initiatives and development, while at the same time aiming at their maximum valorisation. 

The reclamation stages:

• 2001: characterisation of the area
• 2003: removal of waste deposits
• 2005: protection of the site from flood risks
• 2006: removal of saline waste contained in the storage tanks and recovery of the sites
• 2007: recovery of the Rocchetta Plain area