Italian oil major Eni said on April 18 it had decided to temporarily shut down a treatment plant serving its biggest domestic oil field in southern Italy to meet a local order.

Closure of the oil center in the Val d’Agri Field follows a request by the regional government of Basilicata to halt operations because it said there were leaks from storage tanks at the site.

The oil center is located in the Val d’Agri oil concession area which produces around 75,000 barrels of oil per day. It is 61% owned by Eni while the remaining stake is held by Royal Dutch Shell.

In a note on April 14, the regional government said it had repeatedly asked Eni to meet a series of conditions it had laid down to stop contamination of the soil by the leaks.

Eni said on April 18 it had decided to shut down the plant to respect the position of the region, but added it had met all conditions set out by the regional authorities.

The oil center was shut down a first time early last year following an investigation into suspected waste trafficking. Production restarted again in August, but the closure had a material impact on Eni's results.