Northern Cross Sues Yukon Over Fracking Moratorium

Co-authored by Robby Marcum (US)

Earlier this month, Northern Cross Limited, a company based in the western Canadian territory of Yukon, sued the Yukon government over its moratorium on fracking.

The company, which has been exploring the Eagle Plains region in the north of the territory, says the moratorium is a de facto "expropriation" of the company's oil and gas interests.

The company owns fifteen exploration permits in the Eagle Plains area and has identified a wealth of unconventional resources in the region—resources that would require hydraulic fracturing to extract, the company's Statement of Claim says.

The Yukon government, however, banned fracking in all but the southeast portion of the territory in 2015, and in 2016 a new government rose to power in part on its promise to ban fracking throughout the territory.