London (Platts)--14Mar2011/841 am EDT/1241 GMT
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has ordered a ban on shale oil and gas drilling until two separate government reports are published in June. The government has already issued three permits for shale oil exploration and three for shale gas, but public opposition has intensified. The shale oil permits included the right to carry out drilling work, while the permits for shale gas were for exploratory activities only. As more and more groups came out in opposition against unconventional exploration, ecology minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet announced early February no new authorizations would be given for shale gas drilling until the results of a newly commissioned impact and feasibility study. Two weeks later, the minister said France would not issue any new permits for the exploration of shale gas -- which includes early non-drilling activities -- until the study is completed. An initial report is expected by April 15, with a final report by the end of May.Request a free trial of: Oilgram NewsOilgram News brings fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news to your desktop every day. Our extensive global network of correspondents report on supply and demand trends, corporate news, government actions, exploration, technology, and much more. The shale oil permits allowed drilling activities, and the government would meet exploration companies and only give the right to undertake works which are deemed environmentally safe, Kosciusko-Morizet said. However, a letter from Prime Minister Fillon to Cabinet members, sent on Friday, seems to show the government has now set out a similar stance for shale oil drilling as for shale gas. Fillon said Friday no drilling should take place -- in either shale oil or shale gas -- until early June, when both the government's impact report, as well as a second report by MPs Francois-Michel Gonnot and Philippe Martin, will have been published. The ecology minister had said that a moratorium on drilling was not possible, due to France's mining laws. Fillon said Friday the government must honor the constitutional Environment Charter, by carrying out appropriate scientific research to analyze the potential environmental dangers of such activities. He asked the appropriate ministries to do everything in their power to make sure no drilling activities took place until the reports were made public. --Robin Sayles, newsdesk@platts.com
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has ordered a ban on shale oil and gas drilling until two separate government reports are published in June. The government has already issued three permits for shale oil exploration and three for shale gas, but public opposition has intensified. The shale oil permits included the right to carry out drilling work, while the permits for shale gas were for exploratory activities only. As more and more groups came out in opposition against unconventional exploration, ecology minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet announced early February no new authorizations would be given for shale gas drilling until the results of a newly commissioned impact and feasibility study. Two weeks later, the minister said France would not issue any new permits for the exploration of shale gas -- which includes early non-drilling activities -- until the study is completed. An initial report is expected by April 15, with a final report by the end of May.
Oilgram News brings fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news to your desktop every day. Our extensive global network of correspondents report on supply and demand trends, corporate news, government actions, exploration, technology, and much more.