Little known fact: There is a Utica Shale layer in Canada–along the St. Lawrence River Valley–in the Province of Quebec. On and off over the years we’ve mentioned it, largely in connection with an ongoing moratorium on shale drilling in Quebec (see our stories here). Quebec’s moratorium is similar to the mortorium on shale drilling in New York State–that is, a total block, but not a permanent block. Here’s some really good news: the Quebec moratorium on shale drilling is about to come to an end! After debating an environmental bill all night Friday into Saturday, the Quebec National Assembly voted to pass Bill 106, ostensibly to support Quebec’s “clean power plan.” The bill includes a section that “lays out a framework for oil and gas development” in Quebec. Fracking will not begin immediately. The bill does, however, mean that new regulations will come along in early 2017 and after that, it’s an almost certainty that fracking will begin, in 2017, in the Canadian Utica. Cool! Here’s the news…
