Thursday 27 September 2012

Lost in translation perhaps............?

Most of us have been quite clear that at the end of the Environmental Conference in Paris on the 15th of this month President Hollande clearly announced that he intended to cancel the 7 existing permit applications, including those for the Cahors area, from Messrs 3 Legs Resources and for Beaumont de Lomagne. However, our friends in the Isle of Man would appear not to have fully understood the announcement. We thought it was abundantly clear and widely reported in the press here and elsewhere. Here is an extract from their interim report at http://www.3legsresources.com. to be found under the 'media' section of the site.

Extract:

"Germany and France
Our southern German concessions fell due for renewal in the second quarter of the year and we have submitted applications for extensions. These applications are in process. Following the temporary suspension of the oil and gas licensing process in France, the outcome of our two licence applications in France remains unclear. We continue to monitor the situation."

We are clear in our own minds that President Hollande intends the cancellations to be other than 'temporary', at least for the duration of his presidency.

Other matters.

Five organisations met last week north of Cahors to formulate a series of letters to President Hollande congratulating him on his balanced approach to existing and renewable sources of energy. Organisations present included: lecercledegindou; schistehappens; Lot Nature Magazine and Culture Perigord......At the close of the meeting letters were agreed emphasizing amongst other thingsthe urgent need to place the annulations on the statute book.

Friday 21 September 2012

We are concerned........................very.

Just in case any of us thought that the cancellation of 7 permits for shale gas exploitation by President Hollande were cause for celebration, at this point we are well aware that..................

a. The annulation of the 7 permits has yet to appear on the statute books or in the Journal Officiel.

b. President Holland has done nothing to legislate against the possibility of other, emerging techniques, nor strengthen the loi Jacob of July 2011 ( much diluted by President Sarkozy's government ).

c. He has not ( apparently ), acted to cancel the Commission of Enquiry set up by Nicolas Sarkozy to examine 'aspects of exploration' which is due to report finally by the end of 2013 whence there will be a parliamentary vote.

d. He has problem characters within his administration including the apologist Claude Allègre who is now agitating once more and has also been challenged by widely diverging groups including Total, the CGT ( Communist Party), National Chamber of Commerce and many more.

We are concerned - very, and trust that you will not only keep a regular eye on these pages but also send the links to our site to as many English-speaking friends and contacts as possible. Thank you.

Sunday 16 September 2012

Oops!

In yesterday's post we forgot to include......VALENCE. Our apologies.

Thank you to Daniele Favari for pointing that out.

Saturday 15 September 2012

Yesterday's announcement - the detail..........

We can now confirm that the 7 permits and permit applications rejected by President Holland at yesterday's Environmental Conference are: Permis de Brignoles (Var), Beaumont de Lomagne ( Tarn et Garonne ), Montelimar extension ( Drôme and 3 other départements ), Lyon-Annecy ( Savoie and 4 other départements ), Montfalcon ( Isére ) and Cahors ( Lot and 3 départements ).

Francois Holland has instructed Minister Delphine Batho to deal with the matter 'without delay' and also declared that this would be the his approach to matters relating to the exploration and exploitation of shale gas using fracking methodology throughout his five year period as President. Once again, we note his logical and couragous stance in the matter.

Of course, we must not forget that in 2017 with a possible change of government, this abomination could rear it's ugly head once more. At the same time it now gives the oil and gas industry almost five years to provide us with continuing examples of fracking malpractice around the world. We feel certain that they will not let us down!

We will endeavour to keep you informed.

Friday 14 September 2012

President Hollande rejects shale gas fracking

This morning, at the very outset of the government's Environmental Conference President Hollande
announced his outright rejection of shale gas exploration using 'hydraulic fracking' methods and ordered the immediate rejection of seven applications from the likes of Total and 3 Legs Resources including those for the Cahors and Beaumont de Lomagne areas.

The President cited "the heavy risk to health and the environment" of fracking which injects water, sand and chemicals under high pressure into rock to release oil and gas. He also declared that "As far as the exploration and exploitation of non-conventional hydrocarbons is concerned, this will be my policy throughout my (five-year) term of office".

We are naturally delighted. Many thoughts occur to us at this time and with one eye on 2017, but foremost is the thought that this is part of a much broader environmental policy which must be examined in more detail. In the meantime, our thanks to Monsieur Hollande.