French Ministers Quarrel Over Shale Gas Opportunities

France’s Agriculture Minister Stéphane Le Foll ruled out the possibility that Paris could go on with shale gas exploration, contradicting another French Minister who recently said that unconventional fossil fuels are an opportunity for the country.

“We could come up with the technology in a very short time to be able to exploit the gas ecologically,” said Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg, arguing in favour of shale gas.

Montebourg wants to find a way out to the alleged shale gas’ shortcomings that brought France to impose a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in 2011.

France imports 92.1% of gas, while a recent report from the Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Choices (OPECST) affirmed the potential of shale gas in France. According to the US Energy Information Administration the country holds the third largest European reserve after Russia and Poland.

“The government’s position on this matter has already been clearly defined,” Le Foll replied in an interview with BFMTV Thursday, adding that shale explorations might have a negative impact on agriculture.