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(Image source: Bloomberg / Bartek Sadowski)
BY JOHN O'CONNOR
In a win for environmentalists, France's highest court has upheld a law banning the controversial
drilling technique known as fracking.
France's constitutional court ruled against a challenge by American company Schuepbach
Energy. Schuepbach Energy's exploration permits in France were revoked after the country's
Parliament decided to ban fracking in 2011. (Via euronews)
Schuepbach had claimed the law violated its rights, unfairly singled out the practice
of fracking and was just simply unconstitutional ...
... but the court rejected all of those arguments. Its website says the 2011 fracking ban "conforms
to the constitution" and is not "disproportionate."
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technique used to extract shale gas.
A drill digs deep underground then moves horizontally where gas is trapped between shale rock. Pumping
water, sand and chemicals creates pressure, which fractures the rock, allowing the gas
to be extracted. (Via Al Jazeera)
But environmentalists have criticized the method, primarily over concerns that " ... it
could pollute groundwater and even trigger earthquakes." (Via The Telegraph)
Although the technique has been a source of controversy in some European countries, it
has grown in popularity in the U.S.
The New York Times explains: "The success of the technique over the last decade has
led the United States to now claim to be 87 percent self-sufficient in gas."
And Bloomberg notes because of fracking, U.S. " ... oil output is poised to surpass Saudi
Arabia's by 2020, making the country almost self-reliant."
France and Poland have the greatest potential for recoverable shale gas in Europe. However,
France's Energy Minister says the court's ruling means the fracking ban is now safe
from nearly all other legal challenges.