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Ministers Approve Fracking

Britain Gives Green Light For Shale Revolution



Britain has given the green light to gas “fracking”, just days after David Cameron said the controversial technique could help bring down household energy bills. Edward Davey, the Energy Secretary, this morning lifted a ban on the drilling for shale gas, which was put in place after the UK’s first project near Lancashire caused tremors last year. His decision will allow companies to explore for the new energy source across swathes of countryside in the south, north-west and north-east of England. The first company to drill for Britain’s shale gas – Cuadrilla Resources – will now be able to resume its operations near Blackpool, with new controls guarding against the risk of mini earthquakes. --Rowena Mason, The Daily Telegraph, 13 December 2012
It is going to be a “dash for gas” in Britain. There is one quick way of closing the potential electricity generating gap that the UK faces and that is to build more gas power stations. Given the financial and political uncertainties about new nuclear plants and the physical uncertainties about wind power, it is pretty clear that the only way through is to build more thermal power stations and, of the three possible fuels, gas is the only sensible one – oil is too expensive and coal too dirty. So that is what is going to happen. --Hamish McRae, The Independent, 13 January 2012 The large shale gas deposit around Blackpool is 50pc bigger than previously estimated, a report by the British Geological Survey is expected to show. The report, due out in the new year, will say that the Bowland Basin to the east of Blackpool contains 300 trillion cubic feet of gas, The Times reported. Last week, George Osborne, the Chancellor, said shale gas could make a significant contribution to the UK’s gas supply by the 2020s, with early production likely to start after 2015. Mr Osborne said the Government is looking at tax breaks to spur development of shale in the UK, and that the development of the industry would be overseen by a new Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil. --Amy Wilson, The Daily Telegraph, 13 December 2012

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With ministers expected to announce a go-ahead for Cuadrilla today, the green movement is in overdrive, wailing and gnashing their teeth. Fiona Harvey gets her retaliation in first: “Household energy bills will be about £600 higher per year by the end of the decade if the UK relies increasingly on gas, the government's climate advisers warned on Thursday.” Given that Poyry are now saying that exploiting the Bowland Shale alone will reduce gas prices by 2-4% (a figure that is likely to be on the low side), I would say Ms Harvey is a bit behind the times. Funny that. --Andrew Montford, Bishop Hill, 13 December 2012 Hydraulic fracturing to produce oil and gas has become closely associated in the public mind with the risk of triggering man-made earthquakes. But the risk is not high and it is not confined to fracking. There may be greater danger from geothermal energy production and pumping carbon dioxide underground as part of carbon capture and storage projects. Those are the findings of an authoritative study on the risk of man-made (“induced”) seismicity carried out by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences at the request of Congress (“Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies” 2012). --John Kemp, Reuters, 6 December 2012 Deep winter is approaching in Eastern and Central Europe and the Caucasus, bringing with it the prospect of icy days and frigid nights. For our friends and allies in the region, it also brings a chilly reminder of their chronic over-dependence for heat and power on natural gas from Russia, which has demonstrated a penchant for using energy as a weapon against its neighbors. The good news is, recent trends have turned in favor of our NATO allies and other friends to break Russia’s energy dominance. The United States can capitalize on these trends by utilizing our own new-found abundance of natural gas and pursuing smart, committed diplomacy in the region, to help many nations diversify their energy imports. --Senator Richard G Lugar, The Washington Times, 13 December 2012 Just when you thought most of the shale action was taking place south of the 49th parallel, drillers are starting to place horizontal wells inside rich Alberta shale deposits. Canada is the number one go-to source for America’s oil imports. And the northern neighbor is getting ready to shift into a higher gear of production, with the rise of shale oil & gas in huge Alberta deposits. --Al Fin, 10 December 2012


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