Though French energy giant Total recently announced a $2.25 billion joint venture with Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy Corp., the venture isn’t saying much about the potential for shale gas in France.
This particular deal will see Total invest billions of dollars to acquire 25 per cent of Chesapeake’s Barnett Shale assets – a natural gas field in Texas – rather than staying close to home and exploring the rich resources the European country has to offer.
“There is much shale gas in France,” said Francois Laurant, the man in charge of shale gas at Institut Francais du Petrole. “It has been seeping for centuries around the town of Grenoble in midsoutheastern France. But the disputed areas hold black shale in shallower ground than elsewhere in France like the Paris basin.”
Since late 2008, several companies have been seeking permits to explore shale gas prospects in the southern regions of the country. In August 2009, Toreador was granted a contract for the exploitation of the Paris Basin Oil Shale earning the right to develop 649,000 acres (with an additional 153,000 acres pending approval) where an estimated 65 billion barrels of oil are believed to remain in shale plays.
France’s potential – and, undoubtedly Europe’s potential – was further highlighted when oil giants BP, Shell and Statoil began talks of buying Toreador earlier this month (read: Oil giants BP, Shell and Statoil in talks to buy US-based Toreador Resources) in the interest of acquiring its French shale opportunities.
Shale gas is experiencing an unprecedented boom in the United States, but its popularity is pushing companies and entrepreneurs to look beyond US borders for prime investment opportunities. Recently, Vancouver-based Realm Energy publicly threw its hat into the ring for European exploration, concentrating on eight discrete sedimentary basins in seven European countries and submitted applications for oil and gas rights that collectively extend over 1.5 million acres of land.
SOURCE:
Oil & Gas Journal: “Shale Gas Acreage, European Database Draw Interest”
Rigzone: “Toreador Zeroes is on Paris Basin Oil Shale for Future Developments”
Toreador: “Global Activity – France”
Realm: “Realm Energy Makes Aggressive Play for European Shale Gas Deposits”
