Oil is ‘part of the history’

An hour’s drive south of Paris, a small oil operation is causing a big stir as local officials fear an oil spill could threaten the water supplies of 180,000 inhabitants in the French capital and its region.

On Thursday (30 January), a lawsuit delayed the approval of two new drilling wells in Nonville, a village where Bridge Energies has been producing oil since 2009.

“Our water resources are vital. The oil isn’t,” says Franck Beaufreton, mayor of neighbouring Villemer which was part of the legal effort. The village is home to a spring that supplies water to the region and argues that an accident would have major consequences.

“We don’t have any other way of getting drinking water,” he continued

Macron’s government allowed oil expansion shortly after COP28

Many in the region cannot understand the plans to expand Nonville’s oil production after President Macron promised to make France “the first big country in the world to move beyond dependency on fossil energies” when he ran for re-election three years ago.

But while the country bans companies from exploring for new oil and gas locations, it can still allow producers to drill additional wells if they already have a concession.

In the Nonville-area, which lies on the doorstep of a UNESCO-recognised biospherereserve, the French government extended the size of the concession fivefold at the end of 2023 – just after welcoming “the consensus achieved on the necessary move away from fossil fuels” at COP28

“It goes against everything we’re all striving for at the moment,” says Véronique Cardin, 63, one of about 600 residents of the village that is surrounded by trees and meadows. “We’re fighting against fossil fuels. And then our leaders sign off on oil drilling.

Court agrees with Paris and deemed authorisation “illegal”

The local administrative court partially agreed with the critics, calling the department’s approval of the new wells – which would operate at the current production site – “illegal on a number of points.”

Before a final decision in 10 months’ time, it has asked for more comprehensive studies on the project’s impact on biodiversity, further measures to protect the water supply and for Bridge Energies to set aside enough money to cover potential accidents.

In a statement, Eau de Paris, the Parisian public water company, which collects, treats and distributes the resource, hailed the decision as a “first victory.” They warn that the project is too dangerous so close to critical water infrastructure, especially as Bridge Energies has to cross two underground water tables to reach the oil at 1,500 metres deep.

Are the new oil wells a threat to the Paris Agreement?

The oil company told Euronews Green that the threat of an accident is exaggerated given that oil drilling has been taking place in the region since 1959 and that the new wells are “in full compliance with the French legislative framework.”

Despite the shortcomings in the permit, the court decided not to cancel the project for now. It rejects the lawsuit on several points and does not see the drilling in contradiction to the Paris Agreement.

Bridge Energies said it produces 9,000 litres of oil, or about 57 barrels, a day in Nonville. With the proposed wells, the oil company aims to pump around twice as much and reach levels similar to 2016, before a decline in production.

“The project will not change the oil landscape in France,” said Francis Perrin, research director at IRIS, one of the country’s leading political think tanks.

France currently produces around 1 per cent of its oil consumption at home. For Perrin, the oil production around Paris is therefore “no more than a drop in the ocean

Oil is ‘part of the history’ of Nonville

In Nonville, where the biggest disruption is usually friendly dogs and chirping birds, many still resent the local impact.

Residents like Cardin point to odours for those living right next to the oil well and fear additional traffic from heavy machinery transporting the oil to a refinery in Le Havre, 275 kilometres away on the French coast.

But on the other side of the village, Christophe Desagnat feels no impact from the operation. The 55-year-old, who has lived in Nonville since he was a child, grew up with oil production in the area, saying, “It’s part of the history of our community.”

With a concession to drill in Nonville until 2034, it is likely to stay that way for a while.

“Obviously, a lot of environmental movements would like France to stop all oil and gas immediately,” says researcher Perrin. “But that’s not what the French Parliament has decided.”