Sustainable Energy Law Notebook

A  Commission Recommendation on minimum principles for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons such as shale gas by high-volume hydraulic fracturing has been published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU L 39, 8.2.2014, p.72). It is meant to help Member States who wish to carry out such activities by defining procedures, while ensuring a minimum level of protection for public health, climate and environmental protection. Background   This Recommendation forms part of the  Commission package published on 22 January 2014 which included a Communication on the same topic . It also follows up the different calls made by both the Council (Conclusions of 22.5.2013) and the European Parliament (Resolution of 21.11.2012) to assess the recourse to shale gas in EU countries and set harmonised provisions for the protection of human health and the environment.  

The French Constitutional Court delivered on 11 October 2013 its decision as regards the conformity of Law No. 2011-835 of 13 July 2011 with the French Constitution . The law introduced a ban on the exploration and exploitation of liquids and gaseous hydrocarbons by the means of hydraulic fracturing . The law also repealed the research permits granted when such permits intended to use hydraulic fracturing. Therefore, the Dallas-based exploration company Schuepbach Energy LLC , which possessed two exploration permits, raised a question as to the conformity of the law with the Constitution. Importantly, the Constitutional Court backs the difference between hydraulic fracturing and the exploitation of geothermal resources , the latter being permitted. The press release from the Constitutional Court is available here (in French).  Full text of the decision here . A more detailed analysis will follow rapidly on this blog.

The European Commission published on 27 January 2012 a study on the licensing and permitting procedures for shale gas project . One of the central conclusions of the report is that, based on the study of four Member States (France, Germany, Poland and Sweden), there is " no significant gaps in coverage in the  current EU legislative framework, at least for regulating the current level of shale gas activities ." The Report on unconventional gas in Europe is available here .

The French National Assembly discussed and rejected on 11 October 2011  a law proposal submitted in July 2011 which aimed to forbid the exploration and exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbons (i.e., including shale gas and shale oil), to repeal the exclusive permits for research of mines of non-conventional hydrocarbons, and to ensure more transparency in the Mining Code . This means that, although France passed a law on 13 July 2011 which prohibits the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons by hydraulic fracturing on the French territory (loi n° 2011-835), the research and exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbons by other methods remain legal . The proposed legislation was rejected by a large majority, 269 against, 191 in favour, mostly originating from the party of the government. References : Text of the proposal, availalble HERE : Proposition de Loi No. 3690 visant à interdire l'exploration et l'exploitation des hydrocarbures non co...

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...

The Canadian Telegraph-Journal is publishing all this week a series of articles in the form of Q&A on shale gas . The exercise is both instructive as regards shale gas and the latest developments in Canada and in New Brunswick in particular. The first article (to read HERE ) addresses the following issues: 1. What is shale gas? 2. Where are the biggest shale gas deposits in New Brunswick? 3. What is horizontal drilling? 4. What is fracking? 5. Does fracking cause earthquakes? The second article (to be read HERE ) addresses the following issues: 6. What chemicals are added to water used in fracking? 7. What are the sources of water used in fracking and where does the water go after the fracking? 8. Have water sources, such as drinking water wells, ever been contaminated by fracking?

The needs to regulate shale gas exploration and exploitation, as well as hydraulic fracturing are subject to discussion all around the globe these days. Some countries have prohibited the practice, like in France in May 2011, others see shale gas as a real answer to energy dependency, like in Poland or the US (see in the case of the US, the wider initiative " Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future "). The US is about to re-discuss the issue, following the publication of a draft report on 11 August 2011 by the Natural Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) - Safety of Shale Gas Development (website here ). The draft report is part of a mission attributed in May 2011 to the subcommitte of the SEAB and which purpose is to come forward with" recommendations to improve the safety and environmental performance of natural gas hydraulic fracturing from shale formations - harnessing a vital domestic energy resource while ensuring the safe...

On 30 March 2011, President Obama hold a speech on energy policy at the Georgetown University in Washington . The speech gives a glimpse over the priorities of its 2012 campaign in the energy fields, few days after he announced his candidacy to re-election. Below follow some quotes. A short assessment The speech is inscribed in the continuity of his previous initiatives (e.g., the Clean Energy Standard ), which does not mean less ambition in terms of renewable energies, but is also pretty realistic as of the use of conventional and unconventional energy sources . While coal is curiously not really mentionned (except clean coal), nuclear energy and shale gas are part of the US energy future depicted by Obama. Oil drilling (onshore and offshore) is not either a taboo. The support to renewable energy sources seems to be endorsed, while the apparent consensus hides that much remains to be done, in particular for a competitive and environmentally friendly use of renewables. The con...

Following the excellent post by Michael Hoexter on his Blog GreenThoughts , it is worth discussing the GASLAND documentary released in the United States in 2010 relating to the environmental damages of natural gas drilling in the onland territory of the United States. The documentary sets the lights on a particular method of drilling by stimulation called "hydraulic fracturing." This method, also termed "fracing", creates fractures in the rock for the extraction of oil and natural gas. Hydraulic fracturing has been known since the 1940s, but the method of horizontal fracturing at high-volume is more recent. The documentary - After receiving a leasing proposal from a natural gas company in 2008, the author of this documentary, Josh Fox, decided to get more information by hilmself, touring the US states where hydraulic fracturing is already occuring. This resulted in the production of a "grand public" documentary. (Click on the picture to play the trailer...