This article discusses in detail the evolution of the complex no oil mobilisation in Abruzzo, observing the mechanisms that allowed the inclusion of a long lasting regional protest in a series of initiatives of national relevance. I describe the emergence of the no oil milieu in the region, observing its development under the lens of the academic discussion on the organisational changes that most environmental movements are experiencing in the western countries (e.g. Diani & Donati 1999; della Porta & Rucht 2002; Rootes 2003). Furthermore, the paper aims at contributing to the discussion on the connexion between local and national environmental protests. Relying on the classic social movement concept of scale shift (McAdams et al. 2001), I explore how the no oil issue succeeded in shifting in scale, starting from some elements of novelty that I observed both at the local and at the nation level of actions.