French Minister Addresses Shale and Environment
French Minister for Ecology Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet has made it clear that energy companies will be denied permission to explore for shale oil in France if the environment isn’t protected.
“We will hold a meeting as soon as possible with the holders of exploration permits on oil shale,” Kosciusko-Morizet told parliament today. “My goal is clear: I will prevent all work if the environmental conditions aren’t met.”
The minister announced Wednesday it had asked the administration to conduct a mission on environmental issues from the exploitation of shale gas.
"Assessing the issues, including environmental exploitation of shale gas" that is the purpose of the mission entrusted to the councils of industry by the Ministers of Ecology and Energy, Nathalie Kosciusko- Morizet and Eric Besson.
The Environment Minister said that "no authorization for work on shale gas [would] be given or even educated before the outcome of this mission.
(The issue is very simple: Is it possible in France to exploit these deposits (...) properly? " said the minister.
Kosciusko-Morizet also stated that "any operation would be of value if it worked by replacing the imported gas and never questioned our commitment to renewable energy."
The French energy ministry has awarded exploration permits to energy companies searching for unconventional oil and gas in shale rock.
The prospect of drilling in France has sparked opposition among environmental groups worried about possible contamination of water supply by substances used to extract the hydrocarbons.
“In light of the techniques that are used in North America, which are understandably criticized, we will heighten our vigilance,” the French minister said.
The Minister of Ecology said three exploration permits shale gas had been granted in France and three others for shale oil.
Toreador Resources Corp. and Vermilion Energy Inc. are among companies which have snapped up licenses in the region around the French capital known as the Paris Basin to explore for oil trapped in shale rock. GDF Suez SA and Total SA were awarded licenses in southern France to search for shale gas.
Total Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie has said Europe is less accepting of shale production that the U.S. and French landowners have less incentive to allow drilling because they don’t get a share of the royalties under French law.
The IFP Energies Nouvelles, a French energy research organization, has been tasked with carrying out an inventory of potential unconventional oil and gas projects in France and the effects of production on the environment.
“The potential of these new resources still has to be defined,” the Rueil-Malmaison-based organization said last month in its 2011 outlook of energy markets. “The different geological basins appear to be favorable for development.”
“The biggest question is what is the rate of recovery of the deposits,” Olivier Appert, head of the IFP, said last week