Court rejects Boxtel shale gas drilling plan

Boxtel town council was wrong to give the green light to test drilling for shale gas, a court in Den Bosch said on Tuesday.


The case was brought by local residents and Rabobank, which has built a new data centre close to the proposed drilling site.
The court said the council was wrong to grant a temporary suspension of planning rules because the drilling, if successful, would last for longer than five years.
Experts told parliament in September that test drilling was essential to establish if there is enough shale gas to make its extraction cost effective.
Shale gas is natural gas contained in the shale layer around four kilometres underground. The drilling method, known as fracking and considered controversial, involves high-pressure water creating slits in the shale through which the gas can be extracted.

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