Report: France to Open Discussions on Shale

The French government is set to open discussions on shale, the Dow Jones news agency has reported, with meetings between the government and environmental groups to begin next week.

Citing a report on French radio station Europe 1, which in turn cited unnamed sources, the news agency reports that the talks with the environmental groups will begin next Tuesday, the 24th of July.

France enacted a moratorium on shale gas exploration and production in July of last year which led in the following months to the rescinding of permits for the resource.

In October of last year, the government announced that it was cancelling three existing permits for shale gas exploration in the country. One of the revoked permits had been granted to French major Total; the other two were held by Schuepbach Energy.

Reported yesterday on the Europe 1 website, unnamed officials said that meetings would be held between government ministers and environmental NGOs. The meetings are to be held "discreetly", the report said.

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