12 oil pumps running in Alsace amidst global shortages
Independent company produces 60 barrels per day
France's oil production accounts for 1% of its total oil consumption
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Did you know that active oil pumps can be found in the north-east of France? An independent French petrol firm in Alsace owns 12 pumps and produces 60 barrels of crude oil per day.
Geopetrol was founded in 1993 and “specialises in the exploitation of mature oil reserves in France.”
Oil prices have increased in recent months largely due to conflict in the Middle East, resulting in global shortages and making petrol an expensive and sought after natural resource.
“Over the past 60 years of oil and gas exploration and production in France, around 100 oil fields have been discovered in mainland France, producing around 100 million tonnes of crude oil, equating to 700 million barrels,” said the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
However, France's oil production accounts for 1% of its total oil consumption.
The Ministry also stated that oil companies have been granted hydrocarbon mining licenses across 64 sites in France, as of April 1.
These sites are mainly based in the Paris Basin and in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and to a lesser extent in Alsace.
History of oil in Alsace
The oil extracted in Alsace is found at around 500m underground compared to 2,500m in the Middle East. It also weighs more and therefore is slightly more expensive to process.
When the Pechelbronn oil field began to decline during the 1950s, a group called Prepa (Society for the Exploration and Exploitation of Oil in Alsace) set out to see if there were any other oil fields in the area, a spokesperson from the Musée Français du Pétrole in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn (Bas-Rhin) told Franceinfo.
Subsequently, Elf Aquitaine and Total took over petrol operations in Alsace before abandoning the venture in the 1990s when it was bought over by Geopetrol.
‘Hulot’ law to end French production by 2040
In 14 years, all of France’s wells will be closed as the ‘Hulot’ law (n° 2017-1839 of December 30, 2017) is set to put an end to hydrocarbon extraction in France by January 1, 2040.
“The search for and exploitation of coal and all liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons, regardless of the technique used, shall be phased out, with the exception of mine gas as defined in Article L. 111-5, with a view to bringing these activities to a definitive end,” reads the official Légifrance document.
Note however that licences granted before 2017 remain valid and may be extended, therefore allowing certain companies to undertake new drilling at sites already in operation.
France is the first country in the world to pass a law banning the exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons on its territory.
