The province is launching an environmental study to look into controversial shale gas exploration in the province, Quebec's environment minister announced Sunday.

Environmentalists say the government isn't going far enough to control the burgeoning industry and ensure the drilling process is safe.

A form of natural gas trapped in sedimentary rock formations, shale gas is becoming increasingly affordable to extract. The government of Quebec said exploration may create jobs and be lucrative to the province, but seeks to explore the environmental impact first. A new bill to regulate the industry will also be tabled next spring.

"We'll just say to the citizens of Quebec that we need to be responsible in all of this, that we need to act in a very mature way," said Environment Minister Pierre Arcand.

The province has named an environmental commission to produce a report on the pros and cons of the industry, but exploratory drilling will be permitted in the meantime.

"When you are exploiting shale gas, you need a pipeline to transport the gas. When you're exploring, there's no pipeline yet you're just burning the gas on the spot," said Parti Quebecois member and former Quebec Green Party leader Scott McKay.

Protestors Sunday were calling for a moratorium on all shale gas projects in the province, citing environmental concerns over the contamination of water and air. This month, the New York Senate voted for a moratorium on drilling there until new laws can be drafted.

"I expect my government to take care of me and my citizens of Quebec at large and we don't feel that way," said Johanne Beliveau at the protest.

Certain types of shale gas exploration can potentially contaminate groundwater, because reaching natural gas from shale deposits requires that water, sand and chemicals are shot deep underground. Pressure breaks up the rock and releases the gas.

"If there are leaks in the drilling holes, this gas may be released at the surface and it's a toxic gas, a deadly gas," said environmental activist Dominique Newman.

With files from The Canadian Press