Shale Gas Fracking Gets U.K. Boost

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The U.K. government has reaffirmed its support for shale gas fracking following the green light for a controversial project in North Yorkshire.

"Shale is a fantastic opportunity for the U.K., "said U.K. Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom. "It will create a significant number of local jobs, meaning financial security for hard working people and their families; boost our economy; and strengthen our energy security."

She added: "Gas currently accounts for over 60% of household energy use. We use gas in our homes for heating and cooking, and it's also used in factories up and down the country to produce products like soaps, paints and textiles for clothes as well as the plastics found everywhere from our mobile phones and computers to sterile medical equipment. The choice the U.K. faces is not whether we want gas or don't want gas. The choice we face is how much we want to rely on gas from abroad--some of which may or may not be reliable--or whether we would prefer to extract more from the U.K..

The U.K. government is firmly behind a push to develop its own shale gas revolution, albeit nothing like the scale seen in the U.S in the past decade. With North Sea oil and gas resources continuing to decline and coal-fired power being phased out slowly, the government sees shale gas as something that can save some of its domestic gas industry and help support the rapid shift to renewable energy.

Leadsom admitted: "Britain used to produce so much gas that we sold it to other countries. But today we are forced to import much of what we need, and that share will continue to rise unless we make the most of our home-grown energy supplies. Our energy security is absolutely vital. Also, we are dependent on coal for around 30% of our electricity needs. This is unsustainable if we want to move to a lower carbon world. We are therefore making a significant move away from coal in the coming years, aiming to remove it entirely from the mix by 2025. We will have to replace this energy capacity with lower carbon sources. Gas is the cleanest fossil fuel and shale gas can provide an effective "low Carbon Bridge" while we move to renewable energy."

Recently, North Yorkshire County Council approved a shale gas fracking application in the Ryedale area for Third Energy (Yorkshire, England). The council voted 7-4 in favour of the project after two days of hearings, making it the first fracking project in the U.K. in five years to win local authority approval.

"This has been a very difficult decision for the council to make and we know it is a difficult decision for the people of this county," commented Richard Flinton, North Yorkshire's chief executive.

Rasik Valand, chief executive of Third Energy said: "I know that this not a decision that they have taken lightly, especially given the technical complexities and number of presentations made. This approval is not a victory, but is a huge responsibility. We will have to deliver on our commitment, made to the committee and to the people of Ryedale, to undertake this operation safely and without impacting on the local environment."

The first U.K. fracking licence was awarded to shale gas company Cuadrilla Resources (Lichfield, England) in 2011. The company has won other licences in Lancashire since then but has run into numerous problems with the local authority that have delayed projects. For additional information, see January 30, 2015, article - U.K. Fracking Project Delayed.

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