Italian oil drilling referendum, 2016

A referendum on oil and natural gas drilling was held in Italy on 17 April 2016. The referendum proposed repealing the law that allowed gas and oil drilling concessions extracting Hydrocarbon within 12 nautical miles of the Italian coast to be prolonged until the exhaustion of the useful life of the fields.

In the event the turnout of voters was only 29%, well below the 50% threshold required to make the vote valid.

• Primary Source

Politico, 15.04.16: Italy’s tangled oil and gas referendum http://www.politico.eu/article/italy-referendum-oil-drilling-platforms-offshore-matteo-renzi-rigs-gas-renewables/

Euronews, 12.04.16: Italian referendum on drilling for oil could shape the country’s energy policy for decades to come http://www.euronews.com/2016/04/12/italian-referendum-on-drilling-for-oil-could-shape-the-country-s-energy-policy/

IFES: Election Guide: Italy: Referendum, 17 April 2016 http://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/2902/

The Local.it, 13.04.16: Why Italy is scared that oil rush will blight Dante's beach http://www.thelocal.it/20160413/high-stakes-oil-and-gas-vote-has-italy-in-a-tizz

Politico, 17.04.16: Italian referendum fails to restrict offshore drilling http://www.politico.eu/article/italian-referendum-fails-to-restrict-offshore-drilling/

Deutsche Welle, 18.04.16: Low turnout sinks move to freeze Italy offshore drilling http://dw.com/p/1IXR8

Blog: LSE EuroppBlog, 23.04.16: Italy’s off shore oil referendum: Another lost opportunity http://bit.ly/1SoJNx5

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