Mixed reaction to European Union’s fracking plans

The European Union plans guidelines for shale drilling under proposals that may facilitate oil and gas extraction using the technique that’s brought the US toward energy independence.

The 28 member governments will be urged to follow the non-binding principles so that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is done safely and without confusion over conflicting environmental regulations among states and the bloc, according to draft recommendations seen by Bloomberg News. The guidelines wouldn’t interfere with a nation’s right to ban the practice.

Investors and exploration companies have expressed concern that shale prospects may become too difficult to tap compared with other nations such as the US and Russia because European countries are creating a jumble of new laws. France’s Total SA, banned in its home country from fracking, yesterday became the largest oil producer to enter Britain’s shale industry.