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Total Seeks Partner For France Shale Gas Permit

Date: 01-Feb-11
Country: FRANCE
Author: M uriel Boselli

T otal is looking for a partner to take a share of a shale gas exploration perm it in southeast
Franc e after U.S. group Devon pulled out, the Frenc h energy c om pany said on Friday.

T otal said it c ould sell up to 50 perc ent of its perm it, whic h c overs a 4,300 kilom eter square
zone, to a new partner but that it would retain its operatorship.

Frenc h daily Les Ec hos said in its Friday edition the zone c overed by the perm it, obtained by
T otal in M arc h 2010, c ould c ontain up to 2,380 billion c ubic m eters of gas, a num ber it
obtained by m ultiplying the average gas level in the area by the surfac e area.

Rec overable rates for shale gas in the United States hover between 10 and 20 perc ent.

A U.S. boom in shale natural gas drilling has raised hopes that the c ountry will be able to rely
on the c leaner-burning fuel to m eet future energy needs, but c onc erns about its im pac t on
water quality c ould slow the industry's ability to tap this bountiful resourc e.

Shale gas projec ts in Franc e have sparked c ontroversy in rec ent weeks due to the possible
im pac t on the environm ent c aused by drilling tec hniques, whic h require vast am ounts of
water and detergent.

Franc e, whic h in the 1970s produc ed one third of its gas c onsum ption, im ported 98 perc ent
of the gas it c onsum ed in 2009.

"T otal has asked the authorities for the perm it to be extended by 1,850 kilom eters square," a
T otal spokesm an said, without detailing the spec ific area.

"T he first test drilling c ould take plac e at the start of 2012," the spokesm an said, adding that
the c om pany had c om m itted to c arry out three test drillings by 2015.

"No produc tion is c onc eivable before 2015," he said. "Beyond the tec hnic al and ec ologic al
validation, we need ac c eptability from the population," he added.

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T otal has two exploration perm its for shale gas in Denm ark and six in Argentina.

(Editing by Jane Baird)

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