Quebec energy company Utica Resources is asking the province to halt the adoption of a bill that would stop all oil and gas exploration in Quebec.
The company has written to elected members of the National Assembly asking them to vote against the bill, which has reached the final stages of the legislative process.
The company holds hydrocarbon permits issued by the government. If the bill becomes law, the company could be compensated to give them up.
Utica President Mario Lévesque says Quebec, with its untapped gas reserves, should instead send its supply to Europe as an alternative to Russian oil.
"Our world has changed" since the consideration of the bill last winter, said Lévesque in the letter obtained by the Canadian Press.
According to him, Quebec could meet up to 20 per cent of Europe's natural gas needs currently supplied by Russia. He says the province could begin exports within 18 to 24 months.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 8, 2021.
