The French government announced on Monday 3 October that it repealed three permits for shale gas exploration based on hydraulic fracturing. The permits are annulled for the very reason that they involve the used of the hydraulic fracturing technology, which has been prohibited after the adoption of the Law dated 13 July 2011 (text available HERE). The three permits are owned by two companies, the American Schuepbach (Ardèche and Larzac) and the French Total (Montélimar). Schuepbach clearly mentionned its plans to use hydraulic fracturing in its application for permits, which was clearly contrary to the new law and so illegal, while the grounds for the cancellation of Total's permits are less obvious. The basic argument in the refusal of Total's permit was, according to the Minister in charge, Mrs. Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, that the line of argumentation developed by Total was not credible since: (i) Total wanted now to explore conventional hydrocarbons in a region with limited potential for them and that (ii) the company still wants to develop shale gas resources in the future but with other technologies than hydraulic fracturing while these other technologies are not yet operational.
The Ministry underlines that the 61 remaining exploration permits which are still valid do not involve exploration related to shale gas or oil shale, and that all the companies committed themselves not to use hydraulic fracturing as a method for extraction.
The Ministry underlines that the 61 remaining exploration permits which are still valid do not involve exploration related to shale gas or oil shale, and that all the companies committed themselves not to use hydraulic fracturing as a method for extraction.
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