MADRID (Sputnik) – The draft law was proposed by the Left Republicans of Catalonia party and was supported by the parliamentary majority. Two parties — the right-wing conservative People’s Party and the center-right regionalist Asturias Forum — voted against the proposal. The centrist Citizens party abstained from a vote.
The law requires the government to ban all fracking-related activities, citing environmental concerns.
Over 120 companies have been granted a license for fracking across Spain. Canadian energy company BNK, which is planning to extract oil in the Burgos province, is ready to start work in late 2016.
Fracking is a process in which water mixed with chemical is pumped underground at high pressure to break apart rock formations that block the flow of oil or natural gas to the wellhead.
Environmental groups have repeatedly warned that chemical residues left over from fracking contaminates underground supplies of drinking water.
