Shale gas drilling permits cancelled

ECOLOGY minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet has cancelled three permits to drill for shale gas across large swathes of the south of France, including one by French oil giant Total.

The permits, granted by former ecology minister Jean-Louis Borloo in spring 2010, were cancelled after the companies involved –Total and US-based Schuepbach Energy – did not rule out using now-banned hydraulic fracturing to extract any gas found.

The permits were for vast regions known as Nant (Aveyron, Lozère and Hérault), Villeneuve-de-Berg in the Ardèche – which were held by Schuepbach – and Total’s Montélimar which stretches along the Rhône from the Drôme to the Gard and Montpellier.

Ms Kosciusko-Morizet’s decision comes as President Sarkozy visits the Gard today to celebrate Unesco’s classification of the Causses et Cévennes in its world heritage list.

The ban follows the law passed on July 13 where hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – was banned in France and the holders of permits had 60 days to let her department know of what other techniques they intended using to exploit any gas found.

Fracking is the only known technique for extracting shale gas, which is found bound in tight rock formations with no reservoirs, such as those found in conventional oil or gas fields. Fracking forces water, sand and chemicals into the well to fracture the rock strata to allow the gas to gather and be pumped to the surface. However, it has been linked to contaminated water supplies in the US and to minor earthquakes in the UK.

Ms Kosciusko-Morizet rejected Total’s bid to continue exploration “for conventional hydrocarbon resources” saying the areas concerned were of very limited potential and the company “had not shown any interest in conventional exploration in France for many years”.

Total has said it was “very surprised” by the decision and was waiting “for the government’s notification to understand the legal basis” of the ban.

The decisions come after the Direction Générale de l'Energie et du Cimat (DGEC) received reports from the holders of the 64 exploration permits in France where they were to specify the methods of extraction.

Total and Schuepbach did not specify that they would not use fracking – Total said it would not use any techniques banned by law – and this led to the permits being cancelled. Another company, Toreador Resources, has had its permits to explore for shale oil fields – notably in the Paris basin – approved after it said it would not use fracking.

Permits for other potential oil and gas exploration were also approved.

Related stories:
Total’s new shale gas drilling plea
France bans shale gas 'fracking'
Fears over tricks in shale gas vote

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