In May 2008, Swedish governmental agency Bergsstaten gave Shell Exploration and Production AB (affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell Plc) permission for shale gas prospecting and test-drilling in Colonussänkan in Skåne, Sweden. Shell was test-drilling in three different places: Sjöbo, Hörby and Tomelilla.

Already from the beginning, locals mobilized and protested against the project. Shell had been given permission to explore for shale gas on an area of 25% of the Skåne province, and many locals feared the consequences that this exploration and potential extraction could have.

The EJO Heaven or Shell was founded in the summer of 2009 and is a network of locals that oppose the exploration of shale gas in Skåne. They have among other things filed numerous appeals against the decision to let Shell explore the area, and their goal is to change the Swedish Minerallag (Minerals Act, legislation) to give municipalities and land owners veto.

In March 2011 Shell, based on the results from the test-drillings, announced that the levels of gas would be too low for a profitable extraction of gas in Skåne, and the project was abandoned. The network Heaven or Shell continue their struggle to change Swedish legislation for the benefit of municipalities and land owners. (1, 2, 3)

Since the project ended in its exploration phase, there are no quantitative details on extraction.