Source: EurActiv

12 April 2011 - The French government has backed a draft bill that would ban shale gas drilling in the country, citing fears that the extraction method is a risk to water quality. However, for other countries like Poland, shale gas has become a national priority to win independence from Russian imports. EurActiv France reports.



MPs from the ruling centre-right UMP party tabled the bill in the National Assembly using an accelerated procedure. As a result, it will only be examined in a single reading in the Assembly and the Senate.



If adopted, the text would suspend drilling permits granted in March 2010 to Total, GDF Suez, and Schuepbach Energy by former Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo.



A shale gas drilling ban is also supported by the opposition Socialist Party, which presented its own alternative text with the same aim.



In March, the French government had prolonged a moratorium on shale gas drilling until June.



This had followed protests opposing the drilling method, notably in the village of Villeneuve-de-Berg in southern France, with over 20,000 people voicing their opposition chanting "No gazaran!" Shale gas drilling near the town had been planned for the end of 2011.



Scientists relieved, oil business fears red tape



After the announcement of the suspension of drilling, researchers at the hydro-science centre at the University of Montpellier said they were reassured. In the event of shale gas drilling, Montpellier's region "and all the water reserves close to the drilling area would have been seriously threatened," said researcher Françoise Elbaz.



"There is always a technological risk. In going back up, the drill can release toxic gases such as the radioelements naturally contained in the rocks," she said. "And the authorities would have to cut off the water supply."



No such drilling has yet taken place in France, but researchers cite the example of the city of Pittsburgh in the United States. Elbaz says that following the use of chemicals to fracture the rock and ensure permeability, the waters of the city have reached a salinity level inappropriate for consumption.

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