The history of the oil area of East Naples is closely connected to the transformation of localindustrial production and to the prospects of requalification of the territory. Since the 1920s,the oil area, made of storage, distribution, refining and processing activities, has sustainedlocal secondary industrial production and it has guaranteed the energy supply of Naplesand of Southern Italy more broadly. The presence of so many oil industries, however, hasalso greatly polluted the environment and it has strongly limited any urban project aimed atdeveloping the area. A study of the ambitions and failures of these projects can shed light onseveral contemporary local issues, namely environmental degradation, urban disorder and thefunctional promiscuity of urban activities. This article argues that the failed delocalization ofthe oil industries has strongly limited the requalification of East Naples
Keywords: Oil, Industrial history, East Naples, Delocalization, Environment, Environmentalrequalification