Rockhopper v. Italy (Ombrina Mare): the ICSID award and who financed it
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
A tribunal ordered Italy to pay Rockhopper Exploration EUR 190 million plus interest after Italy banned oil and gas activity within 12 miles of its coast. An ICSID committee annulled the award in 2025, and the claim was re-opened.
As awarded on 23 August 2022; the award was annulled on 2 June 2025 and the claim was re-opened.
Status As of April 2026: a new tribunal chaired by Meg Kinnear was constituted to hear the re-submitted claim; no new ruling found.
- First litigation funder (named by Inside Climate News as Harbour Litigation Funding) — Received EUR 26 million of the EUR 45 million upfront payment before the award was annulled. Rockhopper Exploration (via Energy-pedia)
- Rockhopper Exploration — Kept about EUR 15 million of the upfront payment and received EUR 31 million from its insurers. Rockhopper Exploration (via Energy-pedia)
- Insurers — Paid EUR 31 million; they are repaid first from any proceeds of the re-submitted claim. Insurance Business
- Italy — Bore its own defence costs from its budget; the cost of the coastal ban is not settled while the claim is heard again.
What happened
In 2015 Italy again banned oil and gas activity within 12 miles of its coast. Rockhopper Exploration did not obtain a production concession for the Ombrina Mare field and in 2017 brought a claim against Italy under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). Italy had withdrawn from the treaty in 2016; the claim could still be brought because Article 47(3) of the ECT keeps investments that existed at the date of withdrawal protected for a further 20 years.
On 23 August 2022 the tribunal ordered Italy to pay EUR 190 million plus interest. A litigation funder had covered Rockhopper's costs from 2017 until the award; Inside Climate News named the funder as Harbour Litigation Funding. Rockhopper's own statements do not name it.
On 20 December 2023 Rockhopper announced that it had sold the award to what it described as a regulated specialist fund managing more than USD 4 billion in assets. The fund paid EUR 45 million upfront, of which EUR 26 million went to the first funder and about EUR 15 million remained with Rockhopper. A further EUR 65 million was payable if the annulment proceedings ended in Rockhopper's favour.
In October 2024 Rockhopper took out an insurance policy against the risk that the award would be annulled. On 2 June 2025 an ICSID annulment committee annulled the award because one of the arbitrators had not disclosed a conviction that had been overturned years earlier. In August 2025 the insurers paid Rockhopper EUR 31 million.
Rockhopper then re-submitted the same claim; a new funder took on the costs, and money recovered from the new case is to repay the insurers first. A new tribunal, chaired by Meg Kinnear, the former ICSID Secretary-General, was constituted in April 2026. In the record reviewed Italy has made no payment to Rockhopper.
- 2015Italy again bans oil and gas activity within 12 miles of the coast
- 2016Italy withdraws from the Energy Charter Treaty
- 2017Rockhopper files its ECT claim over Ombrina Mare after failing to obtain a production concession
- 202223 August: tribunal orders Italy to pay EUR 190 million plus interest
- 202320 December: Rockhopper sells the award to a specialist fund for EUR 45 million upfront
- 2024October: Rockhopper takes out a policy against annulment of the award
- 20252 June: ICSID committee annuls the award; August: insurers pay Rockhopper EUR 31 million
- 2026April: new tribunal for the re-submitted claim constituted, chaired by Meg Kinnear
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Italy is paying Rockhopper EUR 190 million.
Annulled the award on 2 June 2025 because an arbitrator had not disclosed an overturned conviction.
ICSID (via italaw)Records the award as EUR 190 million won, annulled in 2025, with the cost borne by the taxpayer.
Climate Case ChartHow it looked
Shown
Recorded
- The ICSID annulment committee annulled the award on 2 June 2025 because an arbitrator had not disclosed a conviction that had been overturned years earlier.
- Rockhopper's announcement of 20 December 2023 states the terms of the sale of the award: EUR 45 million upfront, EUR 26 million of it to the first funder, about EUR 15 million to Rockhopper, and EUR 65 million contingent on the annulment outcome.
- Rockhopper received EUR 31 million from its annulment insurance; proceeds of the re-opened case repay the insurers first.
- A new tribunal chaired by Meg Kinnear was constituted for the re-submitted claim in April 2026.
- Climate Case Chart lists the cost of the case as falling on the taxpayer; in the sources reviewed Italy has not paid the award.
- Italy's costs of defending the case were paid from its own budget.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- rockhopper (20 December 2023): Announced that it had sold the Ombrina Mare arbitration award to a regulated specialist fund: EUR 45 million upfront and a further EUR 65 million if the annulment proceedings ended in its favour. · Rockhopper Exploration (via Energy-pedia)
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2017–2022-08-23Claimant won€190m Awarded against Italy, EUR million, plus interest (interest at EURIBOR+4); annulled 2 June 2025Rockhopper Exploration v. Italy (Ombrina Mare), award of 23 August 2022ICSID arbitration tribunal (Energy Charter Treaty) · Arbitration · Rockhopper Exploration → Italy
The tribunal ordered Italy to pay EUR 190 million plus interest over the loss of the Ombrina Mare production concession after the 12-mile coastal ban. ICSID (via italaw)
- 2025-06-02Overturned on appealRockhopper Exploration v. Italy: annulment of the awardICSID annulment committee · Arbitration · Rockhopper Exploration → Italy
The committee annulled the award because one of the arbitrators had not disclosed a conviction that had been overturned years earlier. ICSID (via italaw)
- OngoingRockhopper Exploration v. Italy: re-submitted claimICSID tribunal chaired by Meg Kinnear · Arbitration · Rockhopper Exploration → Italy
Rockhopper re-filed the same claim; a new funder covers the costs, and proceeds repay the insurers first. The tribunal was constituted in April 2026. IISD Investment Treaty News
Insurers
- 2025Paid€31m Payout, EUR million, after annulment of the award (policy described as EUR 4 million)Insurers not named in the sources → Rockhopper ExplorationStated reason: Cover against annulment of the award
Rockhopper took out the policy in October 2024. After the award was annulled the insurers paid EUR 31 million in August 2025; the insurers are repaid first from any proceeds of the re-submitted claim. Insurance Business
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Accounts
- Disputed Is Italy paying Rockhopper EUR 190 million?
Record
- Unclear The sources reviewed do not report the outcome of the re-submitted claim: the new tribunal was constituted in April 2026 and no ruling was found.
- None on record The first funder's name appears only in Inside Climate News (Harbour Litigation Funding); it does not appear in Rockhopper's own statements.
- None on record The insurers' names and the policy premium were not found; the sources describe a EUR 4 million policy and a EUR 31 million payout without reconciling the two figures.
- None on record The cost to Italy of its coastal ban is not settled, because the claim is being heard again.
- None on record The Ombrina Mare coastal environment is not assessed in any of the sources reviewed: the record concerns the compensation claim, not ecological findings.
Did the harm stop?
The measure Rockhopper challenged, Italy's 12-mile coastal ban on oil and gas activity, is not reported as changed in the sources reviewed. The award concerned compensation.
Who paid?
In the record reviewed Italy has paid nothing to Rockhopper. Money moved between the first funder, the specialist fund, Rockhopper and its insurers, and Italy's defence costs came from its own budget.
Sources
Company or project
- Rockhopper Exploration announces monetisation of Ombrina Mare arbitration awardRockhopper Exploration (via Energy-pedia) · 2023-12-20
Courts
- Rockhopper v. Italy: Decision on Annulment (2 June 2025)ICSID (via italaw) · 2025-06-02
Press and investigations
- Rockhopper secures 31 million insurance payout tied to Ombrina arbitrationInsurance Business · 2025-09-01
- Rockhopper stock price down 11% after losing Italy arbitration caseUpstream · 2025-06
Communities and civil society
- New tribunal constituted for Rockhopper v. Italy resubmission with Meg Kinnear as chairIISD Investment Treaty News · 2026-04-21
Researchers
- Rockhopper v. Italy (case entry)Climate Case Chart ·