LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Global Petroleum announced on Friday that two appeals against the Environmental Decrees for its applications in the Southern Adriatic had been rejected by the Administrative Tribunal In Rome.
The AIM-traded firm said the two appeals were the only ones on which the tribunal had so far formally ruled and, as a result, the Global Petroleum board considered that an important precedent had been set for the court to reject the remaining appeals when they are heard.

It said the Environmental Decrees for the two applications, designated d82 F.R-GP and d83 F.R-GP, were originally granted in October 2016.

Various entities then appealed against the decrees, with the appeals initially scheduled to be heard in Rome on 23 October this year, but five of the appellants filed further grounds of appeal at the hearing itself, obliging the tribunal to defer those appeals until the first quarter of 2019.

With regard to the two appeals which were heard on 23 October, made by the Region of Puglia and the town of Ostuni, the tribunal had now issued judgements rejecting both of those appeals.

Regarding the two contiguous applications made by the company, designated d80 F.R-GP and d81 F.R-GP, Global Petroleum said the relevant Environmental Decrees were issued in August and September 2017 respectively.

The 2017 decrees were the subject of appeals by similar, though not identical, parties, and were scheduled to be heard on 20 November.

On that occasion, Global Petroleum said six of the appeals were actually heard - those by the Region of Puglia and by the towns of Bitetto, Fasano, Giovinazzo, Ostuni and Polignano a Mare - and five of the appeals were deferred until January next year, again because the appellants filed further grounds of appeal at the hearing itself.

Global said it was currently awaiting publication by the Tribunal of its judgement in respect of the six appeals which were heard on 20 November, relating to the 2017 decrees.

The company and its advisers said they considered the outcome of the two appeals in respect of which the tribunal had so far published its judgement, relating to the 2016 decrees, to be of "key significance".

By way of contrast, the very late addition by other appellants of further grounds of appeal, in relation to both the 2016 and the 2017 decrees - in both cases long after they made their original appeals - was viewed by the company and its advisers as being "tactical" and without merit.

As a result, Global Petroleum said it was "optimistic" of a similar successful outcome with regard to all outstanding appeals.

"We believe that the rejection by the Tribunal of the two appeals on which they have so far ruled is indicative of the lack of merit of the appeals made in connection with all four of our applications," said Global Petroleum chief executive officer Peter Hill.

"These two rulings represent a major step towards ultimate grant of permits to the company in what we consider to be a highly prospective area, as demonstrated by the activities of the major and substantial independent companies who are engaged in large-scale exploration projects close by in the Italian offshore, and in neighbouring jurisdictions in the Southern Adriatic, where very high value exploration programmes have been committed to."

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