UK Government Feels Media Pressure On Shale Dithering

Shale gas won the overwhelming support of readers yesterday as the answer to the UK’s energy crisis. A poll we ran found almost three-quarters of you were in favour of mining the massive reserves — using technology known as fracking — which lie under many parts of the country. Sun readers signalled, “We’re backing fracking” by 71 per cent to 29 per cent after experts estimated there are 1.3trillion cubic feet of gas lying buried between Blackpool and Scarborough. It is thought roughly a tenth of that could be accessed — enough to last the UK for over 40 years. --Ben Jackson, The Sun, 11 July 2013

---

“I Love Shale Gas” – UK Energy & Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey, 10 July 2013 Energy minister Ed Davey and Environment Agency chairman Chris Smith last night hit back at Lord Lawson. The ex-Tory Energy Secretary called the pair “ugly sisters” harming chances of a UK shale gas boom. But Lord Smith said: “Our approach is that fracking can be a major part of Britain’s future energy needs.” Mr Davey said: “Lord Lawson perpetuates the myth we need to choose renewables or gas. We don’t.” Ben Jackson, The Sun, 11 July 2013

---

---

It is no secret that any new investment in hydrocarbons does not sit well with the government’s anti-fossil fuel Lib Dem coalition partners. No surprise either that Davey’s Lib Dem colleagues in Hampshire are demanding a total ban on fracking and shale gas extraction in the county. Meanwhile, as the Sunday Times reported on June 2, the DECC’s piloting of the new Energy Bill through Parliament threatens a taxpayer-funded new “£200bn makeover” strategy that, rather fancifully, aims to switch the UK from a hydrocarbon economy to a decarbonized one. When it comes to a once-in-a-generation shot at a new UK economic miracle it seems that: the Lord giveth (shale gas in abundance) and Davey taketh away (massive green energy subsidies). -–Peter Glover, Energy Tribune, 18 June 2013 So you might assume the government would be forcing the pace [on shale development]. Far from it. In 2011, the government imposed an 18-month moratorium. Since that ended, Cuadrilla — the only company which has drilled in the UK — has suffered further delays because of bizarre environmental obstacles. Department of Energy and Climate Change ministers have consistently talked down the industry’s prospects. When the British Geological Survey recently dramatically revised up their estimates of Britain’s shale potential, the department’s chiefs allegedly told them to redo the figures — further delaying the publication of their findings until the summer. --Peter Lilley MP, The Spectator, 11 May 2013 Britain's energy secretary on Wednesday advocated a public awareness campaign to promote shale gas and dispel the "myths" surrounding fracking, the controversial method for unlocking the natural gas. Opposition to fracking has been more vocal in Europe than in the U.S. Critics say that besides causing earthquakes, it could pollute ground water, damage wells and lead to emissions of methane gas. "Because those myths have taken hold in some areas, and sometimes when a myth takes hold it's quite difficult to dispel it," Energy Secretary Ed Davey told a cross-party parliamentary group on unconventional oil and gas. He said the government would reach out to the public to promote unconventional oil and gas, and sounded a positive note on the industry more generally. --Cassie Werber, The Wall Street Journal, 11 July 2013 Energy Secretary Ed Davey confirmed again his backing for fracking by declaring “I love shale gas” today. Speaking at a reception for the all party parliamentary group for unconventional oil and gas which has formed in the last year, the minister described a “whole government effort” to exploit shale gas in the UK. The Lib Dem MP told the attendees: “The potential for shale gas is fantastic for our energy security… and the climate”. He also focused on the economic benefits from exploiting the fossil fuel, quipping: “I think the Chancellor might also have noticed the tax revenues.” --Vicky Ellis, Energy Live News, 10 July 2013 I have been to the north of England twice recently and found it hard to see depressed towns with boarded-up shops. Fracking in the UK will bring jobs for blue-collar workers, lower energy bills and see a return to manufacturing. Britain is a great nation and should be at the forefront of this — it started the Industrial Revolution after all. --Chris Wright, The Sun, 10 July 2013 The Midwest’s new Gold Rush has been sparked by fracking — the drilling technique that has finally liberated huge reservoirs of oil within a rock formation known as the Bakken Shale. Fracking has already helped America overtake Russia as the world’s biggest natural gas producer and they no longer import oil from the Middle East. Many believe fracking could bring similar benefits to the UK — including former Tory Chancellor Lord Lawson who wrote in The Sun yesterday. There is 1,300 TRILLION cubic feet of natural gas in shale rock under Lancashire and Yorkshire alone. I travelled to Williston to get a close-up look at some of the most pioneering drilling technology in the world to see what effect it could have in Britain. --Caroline Iggulden,The Sun, 10 July 2013

---