The U.K. will miss a "massive opportunity" to reduce energy bills and invigorate the economy if it doesn't allow companies to develop shale gas using hydraulic fracturing technology, Prime Minister David Cameron said in comments published Monday.
The
U.K.
will
miss a "massive opportunity" to reduce energy bills and invigorate
the economy if it doesn't allow companies to develop shale gas using hydraulic
fracturing technology, Prime Minister David Cameron said in comments published
Monday.
In a column in The Daily Telegraph, Mr. Cameron said that fracking, the
injection of water and chemicals at pressure into rock to release the gas,
should take place throughout the country, including the densely populated
southern part of
Britain
.
The prime minister's comments come as protests against exploratory drilling for
oil by shale pioneer Cuadrilla Resources near the
village
of
Balcombe
, some
30 miles south of
London
,
entered the third week. In an unusual twist, the demonstrations have united
middle-class commuters with hardened environmental activists in what appears to
be a growing nationwide movement against shale gas.
It also comes as Cuadrilla Resources hopes to frack a well in northern England
next year amid recent comments from a former government energy advisor that
fracking for shale gas should only take place in the north of England where
there are large uninhabited areas.
"It has been suggested in recent weeks that we want fracking to be
confined to certain parts of
Britain
. This
is wrong. I want all parts of our nation to share in the benefits: north or
south," he said.
The battle at Balcombe illustrates the hurdles for companies and governments
seeking to replicate the North American shale boom that has lowered energy
prices in the
U.S.
and
helped reinvigorate the economy.
Unlike in the
U.S.
,
development of potential shale resources in the
U.K.
has
proceeded at a snail's pace. Supportive government policies and attractive tax
incentives have bumped up against strong local opposition to fracking, keeping
the
U.K.
in
the very early stages of exploration.
And while most major energy companies are involved in the development of shale
oil and gas in the
U.S.
, they
have so far shown little interest in the
U.K.
In
June, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSB.LN) Chief Executive Peter Voser said
shale development in the U.K. and Europe was unlikely to take off until the
next decade and even then it would be on a smaller scale than in the U.S.
Mr. Cameron said if only one tenth of the estimated 1,300 trillion cubic feet
of shale gas lying underneath Britain were extracted, it would still be enough
to provide the U.K. with 51 years of gas supply.
"The huge benefits of shale gas outweigh any very minor change to the
landscape," he said.
Local communities would also feel the benefits through a 1% share in the
revenues for residents if shale gas is extracted, he said.
The
U.K.
government
is hoping a shale-gas boom could help shake off economic stagnation by lowering
the cost of energy for businesses and consumers, and creating many jobs.
But the industry is still at a very early stage in the
U.K.
There
has been no commercial shale gas production and only a handful of exploration
wells have been drilled, making a reliable estimate of the country's reserves
difficult.
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