Shale Gas: Legal developments in some key jurisdictions 1

United Kingdom

It seems a week cannot go by without some mention in the press of recent developments in shale gas, either in the U.S. or closer to home. Shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the U.S. over the past decade and interest has spread to potential shale gas elsewhere in the world, including Canada, Europe and Asia.

Shale gas is facing a formidable host of enemies in the coal, nuclear, renewable and environmental industries, however the detection and exploitation of shale gas is also described as nothing less than a revolution in the world energy industry, promising to transform not only the prospects of the gas industry but of world energy trade, geopolitics and climate policy.

A number of outstanding concerns regarding shale gas exploration and production continue to be at the forefront of the debate and several jurisdictions have taken opposing approaches to shale gas.

We are tracking legal developments as they relate to shale gas. The attached article describes the main legal developments relating to shale gas exploration and production in the UK, USA, France, Poland, Canada, Germany, China, Ukraine and Israel.