WorldOil

France: France's E&P director sees new hope for exploration

Sophie Galey-Leruste is director of Energy and Mineral Resources in the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry. She is the primary governmental officer responsible for upstream oil and gas policy and implementation within France on a day-to-day basis. Question: Mrs. Galey-Leruste, what kind of year did French upstream operators and equipment/service firms have during 2006? Answer: In 2006, E&P investment inside France rose 65 % over the 2005 level (€97 million against €59 million). Most of this investment was devoted to field work (20 wells were drilled, against 15 in 2005). Due to a shift in the timetable of the work program on several permits, only two exploration wells were drilled last year. In 2006, the combined, worldwide revenues of French service/supply firms reached a new record of €23 billion (€19 billion in 2005).