On December 16, 2015, the Supreme Court of Lithuania upheld
the constitutionality of the amendment to the Subsoil law permitting the use of
hydraulic fracturing for shale gas extraction and also allowed hydraulic
fracturing waste to be disposed of underground.
In November 2013, the Chairman of the Parliament’s
Committee on Environmental Protection, along with some members of the
legislature, argued before the Supreme Court that the amendment’s provisions as
to hydraulic fracturing violated the right to environmental protection derived
from the Constitution.
According to a media report, the Supreme Court’s decision was followed rapidly “by
the news that the American major Chevron will revisit the country’s shale
reserves”. In 2012, the Lithuanian government awarded to Chevron a tender for
shale gas exploration, but in October 2013 Chevron decided to withdraw its bid
due to the nation’s unattractive environmental regulations and tax regime.
Written by Chloe Marie - Research Fellow
01/13/2016
