French Chemical Companies Say Fracking Moratorium Is Driving Fuel Costs Sky High

摘要

France's biggest chemical manufacturers lobby is asking the government to lift the country's ban on exploration for unconventional hydrocarbons, including shale gas and oil, as part of a gas strategy to help the industry avoid a drubbing from U.S. competition. Natural gas, in addition to supplying energy, is an important primary material for chemical manufacturers, which consume some 40 percent of natural gas used by industry in France, the Union des Industries Chimiques (UIC) said at a July 10 news conference. UIC President Philippe Goebel, who also heads Total Petrochemicals France, said the industry had euro 82.4 billion ($112 billion) in sales and directly employed 158,000 people in 2013. But he said it is under threat from U.S. competitors, which pay as much as three times less for natural gas than French companies, mainly because of lower fuel prices he attributed to the U.S. shale gas boom.