Located in more than 60 fields mainly in the Paris region and in the south west (Aquitaine Basin), French hydrocarbon deposits produced 790 tonnes of oil and 0.3 tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) of natural gas in 2013, representing roughly 2 per cent of France’s annual consumption.

Major recent developments in the French E&P sector involve the continuing debate around shale gas which started with the French parliament’s ban on the use of hydraulic fracturing in 2011. Other adjustments include an extensive reshaping of the French New Mining Code currently in force (NMC), which was announced in 2012, but remains under review and is expected to enter into force in 2015 at the earliest; and the publication of a Decree No. 2014-479 dated 14 May 2014 extending the French state’s control of foreign investments in certain strategic sectors, now including energy.

Originally published in The Oil & Gas Law Review - Edition 2: Chapter 9.