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    Melrose, Noble See France Offshore Extension Blocked

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Summary

France's Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy confirmed that and application by Melrose Resources and Noble Energy for the extension of an offshore exploration permit for the Rhône Maritime Exploration Concession in the Mediterranean Sea has been “blocked.”

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Melrose, Noble See France Offshore Extension Blocked

The publication by France of a map indicating permits for oil and gas exploration either granted or under consideration indicates that an application by Melrose Resources Plc. for the extension of an offshore exploration permit, is stalled.

Melrose holds the Rhône Maritime Exploration Concession in the deep water area of the Rhône Delta, offshore France in the Mediterranean Sea.  Noble Energy Inc. acquired a 72.5% working interest and operatorship in return for funding the cost of a block wide 2D seismic acquisition programme.

Melrose and Noble made application to extend the license until 2015. Bloomberg reported a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy confirming that Melrose's application had been “blocked.”

Emboldened by the imposition of a ban on hydraulic fracturing, opponents to offshore drilling have been pressing for a total ban, a position that was supported by former President Nicolas Sarkozy.
 

Nicole Bricq, the newly appointed Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, decided to make the information on oil and gas permitting publicly available in order to provide for greater transparency.

"Public information is in the mining code, absent from the process of awarding exploration licenses. This is intolerable because everyone has the right to know precisely mining underway or planned near his home. I also insisted that this information is as clear as possible because it is not enough to make data available yet to do that they are understandable by all. "
 
Bricq also called reform of French mining code, saying that it must be linked to environmental laws.
 

The news from France comes at a time where Italy is reportedly considering the re-opening of offshore exploration.

Link: Map of French Oil and Gas Permits Granted or Under Consideration

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