Government and Industry Agree to Await French Shale Study Findings (Update)

Licensees for shale gas and oil exploration have agreed to await the preliminary findings of a study before any drilling in France, the government said.

France possesses large reserves of shale gas and oil, but the projects have generated public controversy as a result of the because of drilling methods used to extract the resource.

Earlier this month, the French government has suspended the work on shale gas exploration and threatened legal measures to prevent the commencement of drilling for shale oil in the region around the French capital known as the Paris basin.

Following a meeting, Department of Ecology Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet and Industry Minister Eric Besson announced that there would be no drilling before the month of April.

A progress report of a commission to study the environmental consequences of the exploitation of shale will be made April 15 and the final report May 31.

"The conclusions will be drawn before the end of June 2011," the ministers said in a statement. (Read More HERE)

Companies awarded exploration permits in the Paris basin and the East, agreed to "defer the drilling of wells after the submission of progress report and take no hydraulic fracturing before conclusions of the final report. "

Toreador Resources Corp. in partnership with Hess and Vermilion Energy Inc. are among companies which have licenses in the Paris Basin to explore for oil trapped in shale rock.

Toreador planned to start in March the first of three wells at the Chateau Thierry permit outside Paris, while Vermilion was planning to fracture shale rock in three existing wells this month.  (Read More HERE)

The government also confirmed that holders of exploration permits for shale gas will not undertake any technical operation before the study commission has reached its conclusions.

France has awarded three shale gas exploration licenses in March to Total SA, Schuepbach Energy LLC, and GDF Suez. These licenses cover more than 10 000 km2 on the departments of Hérault, Aveyron, Lozère, Ardèche and Drôme.

Schuepbach was planning to drill two wells in October to search for shale gas while Total had plans for a first well at the start of 2012.

The controversy revolves around the techique of hydraulic fracturing which involves injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals into the rock, to draw the gas or oil in the pipes.

The shale explorers also agreed to undertake "to extend and deepen the dialogue with elected officials and citizens", who complained of a lack of transparency around projects operating from their soil.