France is the biggest shale gas reservoir in Western Europe, even monopolizing almost half of the available resources. This is what reveals a study by the US firm Advanced Resources International, made from many international sources.
The document corroborates the French figures of the pre-April report on shale gas. Thus, France possess 180 Tcf (trillion cubic feet - see chart below) of technically recoverable shale gas, far ahead of Norway with 83 Tcf. This is mainly due to the geology of the Paris Basin.
By expanding to the whole of Europe (potential 640 Tcf), France is in second place, behind Poland, which displays 187 Tcf. Worldwide, the country with the greatest potential remains the United States with 940 Tcf.
These figures are likely to weigh heavily in the debates on shale gas in France. But to confirm, it will be necessary eventually to drill the basement.
This will only be possible if France does not reject any exploration campaign. 10 next May, the National Assembly was supposed to study urgently a proposed law to ban all exploitation of shale gas in the name of the precautionary principle.
However, last May 4 the UMP and the PS have reached a compromise so that the possible law does not concern the ban of shale gas, but only the technique of hydraulic fracturing. It is the latter which has been mainly targeted by its possible environmental consequences, in particular on aquifers. In translation, this law would allow traditional drilling that would then confirm the potential of the country.
http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/ga ... is.N151465
there is a graph with: