Cantrabria’s Fracking Ban Faces Challenge from Madrid

Spain's central government plans to challenge a fracking ban imposed by the region of Cantabria.

In the challenge to be heard by the country's Constitutional Court, Madrid will argue that Cantabria’s action override violates the national law on hydrocarbons. Cantabria banned hydraulic fracturing on environmental concerns in April.

In October of last year, the Spanish government explicitly legalised hydraulic fracturing amended a 1998 hydrocarbon exploration law to include hydraulic fracturing under the permitted exploration techniques for the oil and gas sector. 

The move by Cantabria led to Repsol, Spain’s largest oil producer, to postponed planned shale gas explorations in Northern Spain.  Repsol holds a concession over 290 square miles across the Cantabria region, licensed in 2011 for six years, conditional upon a minimum investment of 30 million euros in exploration activities.