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 Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil has released today its annual report reviewing its oil sands activities in Canada in 2011, so-called "2011 Oil Sands Report Card" . According to the information package published by the company, the report presents performance indicators which measure production and energy consumption as well as emissions and quality and use of air, water and land at the Leismer Demonstration Project and in the Kai Kos Dehseh (KKD) leases in northern Alberta. Production at the Leismer facility started in January 2011. Access the full report .

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 current debate on shale gas that animates French politicians have resulting in a broader initiative to reform the Mining Code . The Minister for Ecology, Mrs. Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, has confirmed on 13 April during the Parliamentary session of the National Assembly (records here ) that the government has started procedure for the reform of the Code . The weak consultation aspects of the permitting procedure is in particular problematic. The proposal should therefore result in the inclusion of a real public consultation procedure already at the stage of the exploration permit . In parallel, a law proposal by the member of the parliament Christian Jacob for the prohibition of shale gas and oil exploitation properly will be discussed on 10 May . The answer given by the French prime Minister , Francois Fillon, during the same session and few weeks before the discussion of the law proposal clarifies the position of the government: "... il est légitime que notre pays con...

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...

The French National Assembly is debatting today, 29 March, the environmental effects of oil shale use and shal gas production during its public session (video available online here ).

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...