Nick Grealy
Administrator of NaturalGas2.0, NoHotAir and ShaleGasInfo Blogs

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The inevitability of French shale gas is slowly descending upon the minds of the most politically correct nation on earth as some French ignore reality.

When I started pointing out the paradox of France importing shale LNG as it bans the technique itself as some sort of ecocide catastrophe, I did so in hope that pointing out the contradictions would lead to some movement in France itself towards a more rational discussion of shale fears.

I’m happy to report some luck there, but first, let’s talk about why France’s role is important to me. As I tell my Anglo Saxon frack head friends, in between planning how to poison the water table and kill children, I have three things in common with the French: I’m smart, alternately charming/obnoxious and I speak French. As I’ve noted before I’m far from being the only French speaking shale advocate, and I’d be happy to release a key member of the London Local Energy technical team, far more fluent than I, but who can drill too. He’d be happy to hop on Eurostar and head to the suburbs of Paris, especially as the interminable wait for UK movement is starting to move from the realm of the boring to the anger inducing.

France is the poster garçon of the international anti fracking movement, giving an imprimatur to progressives worldwide who don’t really know a thing about natural gas, but who hanker after a life of the mind somewhere on the Left Bank. Let’s face it, anyone with half a brain would rather be French.  So France’s opinion, enshrined in the shale ban law of 2011 carries a lot of eau among the anti fracking brigade of Lancashire or Cornell or California.  By the way,  a leading French mineral water brand allegedly used HF to increase production in the early nineties.  I’m afraid I can’t find a source (excuse the pun) online of this story, told in public by a leading French company at Beijing shale conference I attended in 2012.

But, what if, much as I would like to do in London, could the debate be influenced by some form of cognitive therapy on the French leadership: “Sit down and tell us exactly what your fears are?”

Unfortunately Segolene Royal, mother of President Hollande’s four children, still can’t answer the question, and in fact is becoming as ridiculous as she is consistent:

France’s energy minister Segolene Royal is looking at ways of banning US LNG imports, on the grounds that they include shale gas production, derived from hydraulic fracturing – a technology currently prohibited in France.

That too could be classed as a political rather than a commercial decision. As the CEO of France’s biggest oil company Total told the senate this week, it is not possible to separate the molecules so that only those produced by conventional drilling are admitted into the French grid.

And as Mikhail Korchemkin of East European Gas Analysis also points out, fracking is used in Russian oil and gas production too, including at the giant Yamburg field, supplier of gas to France, among others. “For the sake of consistency, the French energy minister should also consider banning the imports of Russian oil and natural gas,” he writes. With the cap on Groningen output only likely to fall, success for Royal would leave France vulnerable to gas supply shocks.

But now Total, who I won’t embarrass by pointing out that they (and Gaz de France Suez, now Engie) are both active in exploring for UK shale, are opening up a new conversation at home:

For several weeks now, the subject of shale gas will re-invite on the discussion table in France. Politicians and economists of all stripes share their strong views on the issue. A debate that deserves indeed to be open again.

At the other end of the political spectrum, on the Republicans side, Luc Chatel defended a completely opposite position. In February, the president of the National Council of Republicans has already said his party would be  “the party of shale gas” . This is an “intimate conviction” that has once again been affirmed but in a new way in April. For the politician, the error is the prohibition on even research on alternatives to fracking. A strategic mistake for the same France that prohibits any progress: “I said that the party of the Republicans was to be the party of progress that is to say always not to deny the Research, Innovation. is the response of shale gas ”  and added:” to systematically prohibit research that’s absurd. “

More in English here from Natural Gas Europe:

Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne thinks that one way of taking the heat out of the debate over shale gas would be to carry out exploration work in its 4,327 km2 Montelimar permit to assess whether the conversation is meaningful. The licence granted to Total but repealed in 2011 following the passing of the fracking ban bill was re-awarded to the French company back in January.

“I am ready to finance exploration because I think the debate has started on uncertain grounds. If I’m allowed to do so, it would be either to recognize a lack of potential so we can stop fighting for nothing; or on the contrary, if we find the right amount of resources the country will decide what to do with it,” Pouyanne said during a hearing of the economic commission of the French Senate on May 18 just days before the oil and gas company holds its general meeting.

He proposes to work with the French oil institute (IFP) and the bureau of mining research (BRGM), two state institutes, which would demonstrate Total’s willingness to listen to both the government and opposition groups. But he refuses to give up on its permit as suggested by the French authorities. The French state has appealed the administrative court decision to re-allocate the permit.

“The French government does not want to talk about this issue. So why we should explore and invest money in a country which would ultimately refuse any developments while we have reduced exploration budgets from $3bn to $1.5bn? We are not going to build development facilities surrounded by the police,” Pouyanne adds.

But one way of reducing police presence in the UK, and Ireland and many other places in Europe, is to remove the Shale is banned in France excuse.Returning to the “Not Here, Not Anywhere” meme, invented in France and exported to anti fracking demos worldwide, France can’t ban importing LNG anymore than it can ban natural gas use.  It’s only a matter of time before US shale LNG shows up in the UK.  How many UK consumers think shale is so important that they will demonstrate at LNG terminals in South Wales, or more consistently, at their own central heating? I’d say none. After all, we had Shale World UK in London this week. Anyone could register to attend, including Tony Bosworth of Friends of the Earth who lurked around. Tony is always welcome and often present at shale conferences, unlike at events run by that sad example of early onset Alzheimers meeting youthful drug abuse, Vivienne Westwood.  But it all went off without a murmur of discontent, not a single demonstrator. Much like the National Day of Action against Fracking on January 31, which got an even more pitiful number of demonstrators in London than anywhere else:

Who’s crazier? Anti fracking demonstrators, or slow poke regulators and planners and oil and gas investors who are scared of them? Planners and investors need to be put on the couch too. What exactly is it that they fear?