'Fracking' Licences Sought in Ireland

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - The Irish government has confirmed that it has received applications for licences from firms seeking to extract shale gas using the controversial technique known as hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking'.

The government stated that applications have been lodged by Enegi and Tamboran Resources, following up licences granted in 201 to carry out initial studies. Tamboran is seeking an exploration licence to find gas in Ireland's shale Northwest Carboniferous basin, specifically in Country Leitrim, while Enegi is seeking the same licence to carry out exploration in the Clare basin. The government has refused to commit to supporting fracking until the completion of a wide-ranging environmental impact assessment report, which was announced by the country's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Ireland joins a number of European country's investigating the potential of drilling for shale gas using the highly controversial fracking technique. Last week, Germany's government proposed a draft law that would allow for the limited use of fracking in the extraction of shale gas, by limiting where fracking can potentially take place. For additional information, see March 12, 2013, article - Germany Keeps 'Fracking' Door Open.

Tamboran believes that around 4.4 trillion cubic feet of gas could be located in a basin spanning parts of Leitrim and Fermanagh while Enegi claims its initial studies show that the Clare basin could yield between 1.5 trillion and 3.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

"I have made clear for some time now that such an environmental impact assessment must be informed by the findings of further research to be commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and that no decision would be made on any proposal for the use of hydraulic fracturing in exploration drilling in Ireland until there has been time to consider the outcome of this further EPA research," explained Fergus O'Dowd T.D., Ireland's Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

The findings of the EPA report into the impact of fracking are not due until 2015.

In Northern Ireland, the potential for shale gas exploration was thrown into the limelight recently by the publication of a report from PwC, claiming that shale gas resources in the region -- specifically in Fermanagh and the north west - could be worth up to 93 billion ($120 billion) to the U,.K. economy in the coming decades.

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