EU unveils shale gas guidelines

EU unveils shale gas guidelines

Commission backs away from legislation on fracking, instead issuing “minimum principles”.

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The European Commission published guidelines on shale-gas exploration today that aim to provide greater clarity for the extractive industry and rule out the prospect of cumbersome EU-level restrictions on hydraulic fracturing (known as fracking).

The process – in which a high-pressure water mixture is injected into rock to release the gas inside – is controversial, with claims from campaigners that it may contaminate groundwater and cause small earthquakes.

The Commission, under pressure from environmentalists and some member states that have banned fracking, including France, had been considering binding EU-wide rules covering environmental damage and safety. The Commission’s environment department had even drafted possible legislation to that effect.

But there have been warnings from the oil and gas industries, and pro-shale countries such as Poland and the UK, that adding red tape would inhibit exploration and prevent the EU from taking advantage of an indigenous, low-carbon (compared to coal) energy source. They say that existing EU and national laws on drilling already cover fracking.

A leaked internal communication from the UK government, reported by European Voice earlier this month, detailed the extent of the behind-the-scenes disagreement between Commission departments and between member states on this issue.

The guidelines are supposed to help co-ordinate the national policies of the member states that choose to extract shale-gas, but other member states will be free to ban exploration, according to a draft of the proposal. However, it stipulates that, if the Commission finds that member states are not following the recommendations, the EU could make them legally binding in 2015.

The recommendations include conducting site inspections to examine if there is groundwater contamination, restricting drilling in areas prone to flooding or earthquakes, and monitoring methane emissions.

Member states have been told to begin applying the principles within six months. From December 2014 they should inform the Commission each year about measures they have put in place. The Commission will monitor adherence to the recommendations in a publicly available scoreboard, which will be used to review the effectiveness of the voluntary approach in 2016.

The International Association of Oil and Gas Producers said the guidlines are “a step in the right direction”.

“Shale gas can be developed in Europe respecting the environment within the current legislation,” said Roland Festor, the group’s EU Affairs Director. “This is a real opportunity: recent research showed that domestic EU development could create as many as 1.1 million jobs by 2050, while reducing the region’s dependence on energy imports and relatively lowering prices.”

But Antoine Simon, a shale gas campaigner with Friends of the Earth Europe, said that existing EU and national drilling legislation does not cover issues specific to shale gas. “Past experience, every poll, study and resolution, pointed to the need for tough regulation,” he said. “Instead, we’re repeating the social and environmental mistakes played out across America.”

Janez Potočnik, European commissioner for the environment, was pushing for legislation to ensure that fracking has more oversight – particularly in the exploration phase. But he lost this battle. “Shale gas is raising hopes in some parts of Europe, but is also a source of public concern,” he said today. “The Commission is responding to calls for action with minimum principles that Member States are invited to follow in order to address environmental and health concerns and give operators and investors the predictability they need.”

Authors:
Dave Keating 

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