Czech Republic Considering Shale Moratorium

The Czech Ministry of the Environment has said that the country is considering imposing a two-year moratorium on shale exploration in the country until new legislation could be prepared to avoid legal and technical difficulties.

Currently, the ministry said, it is not legally prepared for any potential arbitration needs that could arise from the exploration of shale. It says it does not have clear guidelines for companies who wish to explore or excavate shale gas.

"I do not want to get into a situation where a private company in the Czech Republic will require arbitration in lost revenue just because Czech legislation was not able to adequately cover this area well," Minister for the Environment Tomáš Chalupa said.

"My ambition is to make such legislation, which sets out clear rules of the game."

The Czech Republic has previously cancelled one shale permit after issue, a permit granted to BasGas which was cancelled last month. This was due to issues in the application process, the minister said at the time, rather than due to issues about shale. MORE

However, Reuters reports that the company has said that it may pull out of the Czech Republic owing to the uncertainty surrounding shale there.

If implemented, the moratorium would be the third of its kind in Europe, with France and Bulgaria currently having moratoriums on shale in place. Last week, Bulgarian neighbour Romania also floated the idea that it may place a moratorium on the resource, with new Prime Minister Victor Pontas's cabinet saying it would place an immediate moratorium on shale.