PARIAS: France parliament approved legislation on Dec. 19 that would ban all exploration and production of oil and natural gas within its borders and its territories by 2040.
Drilling permits that are already in place will not be renewed by the country, and no new licenses to explore potential extraction and drilling sites will be granted. It’s easy to view this legislation as little more than an empty gesture on behalf on the French government. The country imports 99 percent of its oil and gas, producing only the remaining 1 percent. Socialist lawmaker Delphine Batho hoped the ban would be “contagious” and catch on in other countries that drill for oil and gas within their borders. Seeing this legislation as symbolic, however, ignores the fact that France seems to be putting its money where its mouth is regarding its desire to safeguard to the environment.
As Discovery Magazine’s Erik Klemetti points out, France has upward of 222 million barrels of unconventional oils and another 2 trillion cubic feet of unconventional natural gas in the Paris Basin. Accessing both of these potentially lucrative energy sources Klemetii posits there could be between $11 billion and $270 billion of oil and gas in the ground, based on current oil prices would require fracking.
Klemetti says that much oil and gas could cover France’s needs, at current import levels, for between five and 100 years. Instead, the ban essentially locks away all of that oil and natural gas in favor of reducing the country’s CO2 footprint and forcing the country to rely more on renewable energy.
