There were a few cries of sacrilege when it became known some years ago that oil companies were searching for crude beneath the streets of Paris, using noisy trucks equipped with seismic scanners to chart geologic formations below the Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe and other hallowed landmarks. But last week Elf-Aquitane, one of France's national oil companies, announced that it had recovered an encouraging 27 bbl. of oil from a 6,500-ft.-deep well about four miles from the heart of Paris.
The news infused local residents with Texas-size optimism. "It would bring extra money to the community budget," said the...
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