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Oil And Gas Drilling Ban For France
Friday 5th January 2018
Ravid
France is set to ban oil and gas drilling activity within the nation by 2040, it announced this month.
Under the law passed by the nation's parliament, all new oil and gas drilling activity in the country will be banned, with no new permits issued, while any existing drilling permits will not be renewed once they expire, Energy Business Review reported.
While this may seem like a big step, the publication pointed out that it is likely to have little impact given that France uses imports to meet 99 per cent of its oil and gas requirements.
The majority of the nation's oil production takes place in its South American territory of French Guiana, with 815,000 tonnes of oil produced annually.
The announcement makes France the first country in the world to ban oil and gas exploration. French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted to that effect on the day the ban was announced, saying that he was "very proud" that France had taken this step.
This is a very different approach to that being taken in the UK, where politician Alex Salmond recently called on the government to "get control" of the country's oil resources.
According to the former first minister for Scotland, an oil fund should be set up, which would ensure that at least some of the profits from the country's drilling activities are used to benefit taxpayers, both in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.
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