Shale gas company and Dutch local council involved in legal spat

DutchNews.nl, January 9, 2015

British shale gas company Cuadrilla is threatening to take the town council in the Dutch town of Boxtel to court for refusing to extend its lease on a site earmarked for test drilling, news agency ANP said on Friday.

Cuadrilla on Thursday sent the council an ultimatum about its lease on land in an industrial estate and said the court documents are ‘ready to go’, ANP reported.

The shale gas firm has leased the land since 2011 but the council refuses to extend its contract, saying the rental agreement has expired. Cuadrilla claims it has the right to extend the contract.

The government has imposed a moratorium on drilling for shale gas in the Netherlands pending the outcome of further research. 

Boxtel has been at the forefront of protests about drilling for shale gas in the Netherlands and in 2013 asked the government to cancel Cuadrilla’s licence.

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