Oil Giant: Total to explore for UK shale gas

LONDON: According to a report from the Financial Times, Total, the French oil giant, is set to become the first major firm to explore for shale gas in Britain, despite a ban on exploration in France. The firm will announce a deal under which it will join an exploration license in Lincolnshire, central England, currently operated by US company Ecorp. Total would be the second French company to invest in British shale after GDF Suez announced an exploration deal in October last year which also involved Dart Energy. “Britain has said it wants to make the most of opportunities offered by the extraction of shale gas, in contrast to France where exploration is banned,” the newspaper said. Shale gas has a radical effect on global energy markets, driven by massive increases in production in Canada and particularly the United States.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2014.

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