France takes careful look at shale gas

PARIS, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Shale gas exploration in France won't go forward without first looking at the environmental impact of the unconventional resource, a minister said.

French energy company Total said last week it was examining shale gas deposits at a 1,670-square-mile site in southern France. The supermajor said there could be as much as 84 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the rock formations.

French Ecology Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet told members of the French Parliament that shale could replace gas imports but would "never" get in the way of commitments to renewable energy, the Platts news service quoted her as saying.

Kosciusko-Morizet said the French government would only give explorers the right to work in the area if they can prove their operations are environmentally sound.

With the glut of shale gas in the United States, environmental groups worry the process used to extract the resources are wrecking havoc on the environment.

Kosciusko-Morizet said Paris commissioned a report to examine the environmental effects of shale gas exploration, noting "no authorization" would be given until after the study is completed, Platts added.