Fracking in the United Kingdom: Difference between revisions
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The surge of interest in fracking in the UK can be traced to 2007, when [http://www.cuadrillaresources.com Cuadrilla Resources] was granted a licence for [[shale gas|shale-gas]] exploration along the coast of [[Lancashire]].<ref name="Webb 01Mar2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/mar/01/fracking-shale-gas-energy-mps |title=Results of controversial 'fracking' for shale gas in UK will be kept secret |author=Tim Webb |date=1 March 2011 |publisher=guardian.co.uk |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> Cuadrilla is an American-Australian-British affair, though close ties have developed between China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and one of Cuadrilla's backers.<ref name="Macalister 09Oct2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/oct/09/china-energy-resources-shale-uranium |title=China eyes shale gas and uranium firms |author=Terry Macalister |date=9 October 2011 |publisher=guardian.co.uk |accessdate=29 February 2012}}</ref> The company's first frac job was performed in March 2011 near Blackpool.<ref name="BBC 28Mar2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-12886987 |title=Blackpool shale gas drilling begins |date=28 March 2011 |agency=BBC News |accessdate=29 February 2012}}</ref> Other companies, including [http://www.edenenergy.com.au/company.html Eden Energy], UK Methane Ltd, Coastal Oil and Gas, [http://www.celtiqueenergie.com/operations/uk/index.html Celtique Energie], and [http://www.igasplc.com/ IGas Energy], have since obtained exploration licences, with test drilling being carried out in [[Somerset]], [[Glamorgan]], [[Cheshire]] and other locations.<ref name="PI 07Jul2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/30348/igas-energy-starts-construction-at-doe-green-3-site-well-to-spud-mid-july-30348.html |title=Igas Energy starts construction at Doe Green 3 site, well to spud mid-July |author=Andre Lamberti |date=7 July 2011 |agency=Proactiveinvestors |accessdate=29 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="Hendry 22Sep2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/22/shale-gas-exploration |title=The potential for shale gas is worth exploration |author=Charles Hendry |date=22 September 2011 |publisher=guardian.co.uk |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="BBC 28Sep2011a">{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-15099549 |title='Fracking threat' to Bath's hot springs, says council |date=28 September 2011 |agency=BBC News |accessdate=26 February 2011}}</ref><ref name="Gilligan 26Nov2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/gas/8918399/Field-of-dreams-or-an-environment-nightmare.html |title=Field of dreams, or an environment nightmare? |author=Andrew Gilligan |date=26 November 2011 |newspaper=The Sunday Telegraph |accessdate=27 February 2012}}</ref> |
The surge of interest in fracking in the UK can be traced to 2007, when [http://www.cuadrillaresources.com Cuadrilla Resources] was granted a licence for [[shale gas|shale-gas]] exploration along the coast of [[Lancashire]].<ref name="Webb 01Mar2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/mar/01/fracking-shale-gas-energy-mps |title=Results of controversial 'fracking' for shale gas in UK will be kept secret |author=Tim Webb |date=1 March 2011 |publisher=guardian.co.uk |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> Cuadrilla is an American-Australian-British affair, though close ties have developed between China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and one of Cuadrilla's backers.<ref name="Macalister 09Oct2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/oct/09/china-energy-resources-shale-uranium |title=China eyes shale gas and uranium firms |author=Terry Macalister |date=9 October 2011 |publisher=guardian.co.uk |accessdate=29 February 2012}}</ref> The company's first frac job was performed in March 2011 near Blackpool.<ref name="BBC 28Mar2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-12886987 |title=Blackpool shale gas drilling begins |date=28 March 2011 |agency=BBC News |accessdate=29 February 2012}}</ref> Other companies, including [http://www.edenenergy.com.au/company.html Eden Energy], UK Methane Ltd, Coastal Oil and Gas, [http://www.celtiqueenergie.com/operations/uk/index.html Celtique Energie], and [http://www.igasplc.com/ IGas Energy], have since obtained exploration licences, with test drilling being carried out in [[Somerset]], [[Glamorgan]], [[Cheshire]] and other locations.<ref name="PI 07Jul2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/30348/igas-energy-starts-construction-at-doe-green-3-site-well-to-spud-mid-july-30348.html |title=Igas Energy starts construction at Doe Green 3 site, well to spud mid-July |author=Andre Lamberti |date=7 July 2011 |agency=Proactiveinvestors |accessdate=29 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="Hendry 22Sep2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/22/shale-gas-exploration |title=The potential for shale gas is worth exploration |author=Charles Hendry |date=22 September 2011 |publisher=guardian.co.uk |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="BBC 28Sep2011a">{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-15099549 |title='Fracking threat' to Bath's hot springs, says council |date=28 September 2011 |agency=BBC News |accessdate=26 February 2011}}</ref><ref name="Gilligan 26Nov2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/gas/8918399/Field-of-dreams-or-an-environment-nightmare.html |title=Field of dreams, or an environment nightmare? |author=Andrew Gilligan |date=26 November 2011 |newspaper=The Sunday Telegraph |accessdate=27 February 2012}}</ref> |
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In September 2011, Cuadrilla announced a huge discovery of 200 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas under the [[Fylde Coast]] in Lancashire.<ref name="Macalister 21Sep2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/sep/21/gas-field-blackpool-dallas-sea |title=Vast reserves of shale gas revealed in UK |author=Terry Macalister |date=21 September 2011 |publisher=guardian.co.uk |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> The find alone is equal to the proven gas reserves of big energy-exporting countries such as [[Venezuela]],<ref name="EIA Venz">{{cite web |url=http://www.eia.gov/cabs/venezuela/NaturalGas.html |title=Country Analysis Briefs: Venezuela, Natural Gas |author=[[Energy Information Administration|US Energy Information Adminstration]] |month=March |year=2011 |accessdate=27 February 2012 |quote=According to ''OGJ'', Venezuela had 179 Tcf of proven natural gas reserves in 2011, the second largest in the Western Hemisphere behind the United States.}}</ref> leading to sensational media |
In September 2011, Cuadrilla announced a huge discovery of 200 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas under the [[Fylde Coast]] in Lancashire.<ref name="Macalister 21Sep2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/sep/21/gas-field-blackpool-dallas-sea |title=Vast reserves of shale gas revealed in UK |author=Terry Macalister |date=21 September 2011 |publisher=guardian.co.uk |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> The find alone is equal to the proven gas reserves of big energy-exporting countries such as [[Venezuela]],<ref name="EIA Venz">{{cite web |url=http://www.eia.gov/cabs/venezuela/NaturalGas.html |title=Country Analysis Briefs: Venezuela, Natural Gas |author=[[Energy Information Administration|US Energy Information Adminstration]] |month=March |year=2011 |accessdate=27 February 2012 |quote=According to ''OGJ'', Venezuela had 179 Tcf of proven natural gas reserves in 2011, the second largest in the Western Hemisphere behind the United States.}}</ref> leading to ridiculous claims by [[Lord Browne]] that Lancashire alone would be able to satisfy the UK's gas consumption "for 56 years",<ref name="West 25Sep2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/energy_and_environment/article782658.ece |title=Enough gas in Lancashire 'to last Britain for 56 years' |author=Karl West |date=25 September 2011 |newspaper=The Sunday Times |accessdate=3 March 2012}}</ref> and sensational media claims that the find was "so rich it could meet Britain's needs for decades",<ref name="Leake 12Feb2012">{{cite news |url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Environment/article871567.ece |title=Gas find is enough to last 70 years |author=Jonathan Leake |date=12 February 2012 |newspaper=The Sunday Times |accessdate=3 March 2012}}</ref> that it had "the potential to do more for Lancashire than the cotton industry."<ref name="Clover 25Nov2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/article782881.ece |title=Easing the energy crisis with a bit of Blackpool rock |author=Charles Clover |date=25 November 2011 |newspaper=The Sunday Times |accessdate=3 March 2012}}</ref> (For comparison, the cotton industry in Lancashire employed, at peak penetration in 1811, 37% of the county, or 70,000 people; Cuadrilla believes fracking will provide 1,700 in Lancashire, current population 1.1m).<ref>{{cite book |last=Walton |first=John K. |year=1987 |title=Lancashire: a social history, 1558–1939 |location=Manchester |publisher=Manchester University Press |page=[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pRANAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA111 111]}}</ref><ref name="VoB">{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TOT_POP&u_id=10097848&c_id=10001043&add=N#tab02 |title=Lancashire: Historical statistics—Population |accessdate=3 March 2012}}</ref><ref name="BBC 21Sep2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-14990573 |title=Shale gas firm finds 'vast' gas resources in Lancashire |date=21 September 2011 |agency=BBC News |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> The inaccuracy of such production claims stems from the fact that only a fairly small minority of the gas is recoverable, with Cuadrilla saying it would be happy if it could extract even 10–20% of it.<ref name="Gilligan 26Nov2011"/> The British Geological Survey, responsible for producing inventories of the UK's mineral resources, and far more cautious in its estimates, felt prompted, however, to re-evaluate its projections in light of the find,<ref name="Leake 12Feb2012"/> which Cuadrilla believes could provide 5,600 jobs in the UK, 1,700 of those in Lancashire.<ref name="BBC 21Sep2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-14990573 |title=Shale gas firm finds 'vast' gas resources in Lancashire |date=21 September 2011 |agency=BBC News |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> |
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The [[Department of Energy and Climate Change]] (DECC) has identified large areas of eastern and southern England as having the "best shale gas potential":{{quote|The main area identified runs from just south of Middlesbrough in a crescent through East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and the Cotswolds to Somerset and Wiltshire. It then turns along the South Coast and Downs, including most of Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey and Kent. Shale gas sites are under investigation in the Sussex commuter belt, near Haywards Heath, the Mendip Hills, south of Bath, in Kent, Lincolnshire, south Wales, Staffordshire and Cheshire, as well as more sites near the existing find in Lancashire.<ref name="Gilligan 26Nov2011"/>}} |
The [[Department of Energy and Climate Change]] (DECC) has identified large areas of eastern and southern England as having the "best shale gas potential":{{quote|The main area identified runs from just south of Middlesbrough in a crescent through East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and the Cotswolds to Somerset and Wiltshire. It then turns along the South Coast and Downs, including most of Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey and Kent. Shale gas sites are under investigation in the Sussex commuter belt, near Haywards Heath, the Mendip Hills, south of Bath, in Kent, Lincolnshire, south Wales, Staffordshire and Cheshire, as well as more sites near the existing find in Lancashire.<ref name="Gilligan 26Nov2011"/>}} |
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In January 2011, a few months prior to Cuadrilla's inaugural fracking, a [[Tyndall Centre]] study recommended "a precautionary approach" to the activity until the growing number of environmental dangers were more fully understood and taken account of. Tyndall pointed to the US, where [[Hydraulic fracturing#Environmental concerns|evidence increasingly suggests]] that fracking poses (amongst other things) a "significant risk of ground and surface water contamination", noting the UK's situation was further complicated by its high population density, meaning any wells associated with shale gas extraction will be relatively close to population centres. It also observed that the vast amounts of water used during the process "could put considerable pressure on [local] water supplies".<ref name="Tyndall Jan2011">{{citation |separator=. |url=http://tyndall.ac.uk/sites/default/files/tyndall-coop_shale_gas_report_final.pdf |title=Shale gas: a provisional assessment of climate change and environmental impacts |author=Kevin Anderson et al. |month=January |year=2011 |publisher=The Tyndall Centre, [[University of Manchester]] |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> |
In January 2011, a few months prior to Cuadrilla's inaugural fracking, a [[Tyndall Centre]] study recommended "a precautionary approach" to the activity until the growing number of environmental dangers were more fully understood and taken account of. Tyndall pointed to the US, where [[Hydraulic fracturing#Environmental concerns|evidence increasingly suggests]] that fracking poses (amongst other things) a "significant risk of ground and surface water contamination", noting the UK's situation was further complicated by its high population density, meaning any wells associated with shale gas extraction will be relatively close to population centres. It also observed that the vast amounts of water used during the process "could put considerable pressure on [local] water supplies".<ref name="Tyndall Jan2011">{{citation |separator=. |url=http://tyndall.ac.uk/sites/default/files/tyndall-coop_shale_gas_report_final.pdf |title=Shale gas: a provisional assessment of climate change and environmental impacts |author=Kevin Anderson et al. |month=January |year=2011 |publisher=The Tyndall Centre, [[University of Manchester]] |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> |
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For people living in drier |
For people living in drier areas, in East [[Kent]], for example, this last point has added another layer of concern about fracking and water supplies.<ref name="EKM 01Dec2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.kentonline.co.uk/east_kent_mercury/news/2011/december/1/fracking.aspx |title=Fracking |date=1 December 2011 |newspaper=East Kent Mercury |accessdate=1 March 2012}}</ref> East Kent falls within the [[Environment Agency]]'s Southern Region, the third driest region of England and Wales,<ref>{{citation |separator=. |url=http://publications.environment-agency.gov.uk/PDF/GEHO1209BRLC-E-E.pdf |title=Groundwater Body, Groundwater Quality Reports |date=6 May 2008 |publisher=Environment Agency – Southern Region |page=5 |accessdate=1 March 2012}}</ref> where "water is a scarce and often over-committed resource".<ref name="EA Dec2009">{{citation |separator=. |url=http://publications.environment-agency.gov.uk/PDF/GEHO1209BRLC-E-E.pdf |title=Water for People and the Environment: Water Resources Strategy, Regional Action Plan for Southern Region |month=December |year=2009 |publisher=Environment Agency |page=1 |accessdate=1 March 2012}}</ref><!--As everywhere else, "[[aquifers]] are of major importance to both people and the environment" in Southern Region,<ref name="EA Dec2009"/> meaning fracking in some areas poses a dual menace of severe groundwater pollution and watershortages.--> |
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The DECC dismissed the Tyndall Centre study's concerns because Cuadrilla had assured it there was no appreciable risk of adverse environmental impacts from fracking.<ref name="Macalister 17Jan2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jan/17/uk-shale-gas-warning |title=Warning over UK shale gas projects |author=Terry Macalister |date=17 January 2011 |publisher=guardian.co.uk |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> Cuadrilla voluntarily suspended<ref name="FT 01Jun2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0577dda0-8c82-11e0-883f-00144feab49a.html |title=Earthquake fears halt shale gas fracking |author=Sylvia Pfeifer and Elizabeth Rigby |date=1 June 2011 |newspaper=The Financial Times |accessdate=1 March 2012}}</ref><ref name="MMenzies">{{cite web |url=http://www.markmenzies.org.uk/news/shale-gas-drilling-an-update |title=Shale gas drilling update |date=5 June 2011 |publisher=[[Mark Menzies]]' website |accessdate=1 March 2012}}</ref> its operations just a few months later in June, however, after fracking activity caused two small earthquakes in Lancashire,<ref name="BBC 08Jun2012">{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-13700575 |title=Shale gas fracking: MPs call for safety inquiry after tremors |date=8 June 2011 |agency=BBC News |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> one of [[Richter magnitude scale|2.3 magnitude]] and the other of 1.5.<ref name="Gilligan 26Nov2011"/> The company's temporary halt is pending DECC guidance on the |
The DECC dismissed the Tyndall Centre study's concerns because Cuadrilla had assured it there was no appreciable risk of adverse environmental impacts from fracking.<ref name="Macalister 17Jan2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jan/17/uk-shale-gas-warning |title=Warning over UK shale gas projects |author=Terry Macalister |date=17 January 2011 |publisher=guardian.co.uk |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> Cuadrilla voluntarily suspended<ref name="FT 01Jun2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0577dda0-8c82-11e0-883f-00144feab49a.html |title=Earthquake fears halt shale gas fracking |author=Sylvia Pfeifer and Elizabeth Rigby |date=1 June 2011 |newspaper=The Financial Times |accessdate=1 March 2012}}</ref><ref name="MMenzies">{{cite web |url=http://www.markmenzies.org.uk/news/shale-gas-drilling-an-update |title=Shale gas drilling update |date=5 June 2011 |publisher=[[Mark Menzies]]' website |accessdate=1 March 2012}}</ref> its operations just a few months later in June, however, after fracking activity caused two small earthquakes in Lancashire,<ref name="BBC 08Jun2012">{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-13700575 |title=Shale gas fracking: MPs call for safety inquiry after tremors |date=8 June 2011 |agency=BBC News |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> one of [[Richter magnitude scale|2.3 magnitude]] and the other of 1.5.<ref name="Gilligan 26Nov2011"/> The company's temporary halt is pending DECC guidance on the conclusions of a study being carried out by the [[British Geological Survey]] and [[Keele University]].<ref name="FT 01Jun2011"/> Campaigners have pointed to a possible conflict of interest regarding Keele's involvement in the study, since Cuadrilla runs a summer programme for some of the university's geology students.<ref name="CR 15Aug2011">{{cite web |url=http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/news/cuadrilla-news/article/students-spend-the-summer-with-cuadrilla/ |title=Students spend the summer with Cuadrilla |date=15 August 2011 |publisher=Cuadrilla Resources |accessdate=1 March 2012}}</ref> |
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Cuadrilla commissioned an investigation into the seismic activity, which concluded that the tremors were probably caused by the lubrication of an existing [[Fault (geology)|fault plane]] by the unintended spread of fracking fluid below ground.<ref name="CRes 02Nov2011">{{citation |separator=. |url=http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Final_Report_Bowland_Seismicity_02-11-11.pdf |title=Geomechanical Study of Bowland Shale Seismicity |author=C.J. de Pater and S. Baisch |date=2 November 2011 |publisher=Cuadrilla Resources |accessdate=22 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="Science 02Nov2011">{{cite web |url=http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/11/uk-quakes-likely-caused-by-fracking.html |last=Rearden |first=Sarah |title=U.K. Quakes Likely Caused by Fracking |date=2 November 2011 |publisher=HighWire Press, American Association for the Advancement of Science |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="BBC 02Nov2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-15550458 |title=Fracking tests near Blackpool 'likely cause' of tremors |date=2 November 2011 |agency=BBC News |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> Cuadrilla's estimates of how far up along faults fracking fluid could migrate during such incidents reinforced concerns among campaigners in Balcombe that, if accidental lubrication of an undetected fault line could and did occur there, it might result in disastrous contamination of the area's water table.<ref name="gdib 03Jan2012">{{cite web |url=http://gasdrillinginbalcombe.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/earthquake-firm-plans-to-frack-500-feet-below-water-supplies/ |title=Earthquake firm plans to frack 500 feet below Sussex water supplies |date=3 January 2012 |work=gasdrillinginbalcombe |publisher=NO Fracking in Sussex |accessdate=29 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="gdib 16Jan2012">{{cite web |url=http://gasdrillinginbalcombe.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/cuadrilla-documents-balcombe-water-vulnerable-to-fracking/ |title=Cuadrilla documents: Balcombe water vulnerable to fracking |date=21 February 2012 |work=gasdrillinginbalcombe |publisher=NO Fracking in Sussex |accessdate=29 February 2012}}</ref> |
Cuadrilla commissioned an investigation into the seismic activity, which concluded that the tremors were probably caused by the lubrication of an existing [[Fault (geology)|fault plane]] by the unintended spread of fracking fluid below ground.<ref name="CRes 02Nov2011">{{citation |separator=. |url=http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Final_Report_Bowland_Seismicity_02-11-11.pdf |title=Geomechanical Study of Bowland Shale Seismicity |author=C.J. de Pater and S. Baisch |date=2 November 2011 |publisher=Cuadrilla Resources |accessdate=22 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="Science 02Nov2011">{{cite web |url=http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/11/uk-quakes-likely-caused-by-fracking.html |last=Rearden |first=Sarah |title=U.K. Quakes Likely Caused by Fracking |date=2 November 2011 |publisher=HighWire Press, American Association for the Advancement of Science |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="BBC 02Nov2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-15550458 |title=Fracking tests near Blackpool 'likely cause' of tremors |date=2 November 2011 |agency=BBC News |accessdate=26 February 2012}}</ref> Cuadrilla's estimates of how far up along faults fracking fluid could migrate during such incidents reinforced concerns among campaigners in Balcombe that, if accidental lubrication of an undetected fault line could and did occur there, it might result in disastrous contamination of the area's water table.<ref name="gdib 03Jan2012">{{cite web |url=http://gasdrillinginbalcombe.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/earthquake-firm-plans-to-frack-500-feet-below-water-supplies/ |title=Earthquake firm plans to frack 500 feet below Sussex water supplies |date=3 January 2012 |work=gasdrillinginbalcombe |publisher=NO Fracking in Sussex |accessdate=29 February 2012}}</ref><ref name="gdib 16Jan2012">{{cite web |url=http://gasdrillinginbalcombe.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/cuadrilla-documents-balcombe-water-vulnerable-to-fracking/ |title=Cuadrilla documents: Balcombe water vulnerable to fracking |date=21 February 2012 |work=gasdrillinginbalcombe |publisher=NO Fracking in Sussex |accessdate=29 February 2012}}</ref> |
Revision as of 20:22, 3 March 2012
In the United Kingdom, as in other countries—and in particular the United States, where the industry is most advanced and extensive—induced hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has generated a considerable amount of controversy, and the process has not been carried out in the UK since June 2011. Serious questions about environmental safety and public health have led to the process being banned in France and elsewhere.
Fracking in the UK (illustration) is in its infancy; as a result, there are no reliable indicators of its potential productivity.[1] According to a 2011 report of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, "Shale gas resources in the UK could be considerable—particularly offshore—but are unlikely to be a "game changer" to the same extent as they have been in the US, where the shale gas revolution has led to a reduction in natural gas prices."[2] Nonetheless, industry estimates suggest shale gas in Lancashire alone could deliver £6bn of gas a year for the next three decades.[3]
Background
The surge of interest in fracking in the UK can be traced to 2007, when Cuadrilla Resources was granted a licence for shale-gas exploration along the coast of Lancashire.[4] Cuadrilla is an American-Australian-British affair, though close ties have developed between China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and one of Cuadrilla's backers.[5] The company's first frac job was performed in March 2011 near Blackpool.[6] Other companies, including Eden Energy, UK Methane Ltd, Coastal Oil and Gas, Celtique Energie, and IGas Energy, have since obtained exploration licences, with test drilling being carried out in Somerset, Glamorgan, Cheshire and other locations.[7][8][9][10]
In September 2011, Cuadrilla announced a huge discovery of 200 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas under the Fylde Coast in Lancashire.[11] The find alone is equal to the proven gas reserves of big energy-exporting countries such as Venezuela,[12] leading to ridiculous claims by Lord Browne that Lancashire alone would be able to satisfy the UK's gas consumption "for 56 years",[13] and sensational media claims that the find was "so rich it could meet Britain's needs for decades",[14] that it had "the potential to do more for Lancashire than the cotton industry."[15] (For comparison, the cotton industry in Lancashire employed, at peak penetration in 1811, 37% of the county, or 70,000 people; Cuadrilla believes fracking will provide 1,700 in Lancashire, current population 1.1m).[16][17][18] The inaccuracy of such production claims stems from the fact that only a fairly small minority of the gas is recoverable, with Cuadrilla saying it would be happy if it could extract even 10–20% of it.[10] The British Geological Survey, responsible for producing inventories of the UK's mineral resources, and far more cautious in its estimates, felt prompted, however, to re-evaluate its projections in light of the find,[14] which Cuadrilla believes could provide 5,600 jobs in the UK, 1,700 of those in Lancashire.[18]
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has identified large areas of eastern and southern England as having the "best shale gas potential":
The main area identified runs from just south of Middlesbrough in a crescent through East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and the Cotswolds to Somerset and Wiltshire. It then turns along the South Coast and Downs, including most of Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey and Kent. Shale gas sites are under investigation in the Sussex commuter belt, near Haywards Heath, the Mendip Hills, south of Bath, in Kent, Lincolnshire, south Wales, Staffordshire and Cheshire, as well as more sites near the existing find in Lancashire.[10]
Coastal Oil and Gas, who are exploring southern Wales (mainly for coalbed methane, but also for shale gas), trumpet an estimate that puts a £70bn value on the region's shale gas.[19] Celtique Energie reckon on as much as 14 Tcf of recoverable shale gas in countryside south of Horsham, West Sussex.[10] February 2012 saw IGas announce a 4.6 Tcf of shale gas find at its Ince Marshes site, though it is again unlikely that more than 20% of it will be recoverable.[20]
Environmental and other concerns
In January 2011, a few months prior to Cuadrilla's inaugural fracking, a Tyndall Centre study recommended "a precautionary approach" to the activity until the growing number of environmental dangers were more fully understood and taken account of. Tyndall pointed to the US, where evidence increasingly suggests that fracking poses (amongst other things) a "significant risk of ground and surface water contamination", noting the UK's situation was further complicated by its high population density, meaning any wells associated with shale gas extraction will be relatively close to population centres. It also observed that the vast amounts of water used during the process "could put considerable pressure on [local] water supplies".[21]
For people living in drier areas, in East Kent, for example, this last point has added another layer of concern about fracking and water supplies.[22] East Kent falls within the Environment Agency's Southern Region, the third driest region of England and Wales,[23] where "water is a scarce and often over-committed resource".[24]
The DECC dismissed the Tyndall Centre study's concerns because Cuadrilla had assured it there was no appreciable risk of adverse environmental impacts from fracking.[25] Cuadrilla voluntarily suspended[26][27] its operations just a few months later in June, however, after fracking activity caused two small earthquakes in Lancashire,[28] one of 2.3 magnitude and the other of 1.5.[10] The company's temporary halt is pending DECC guidance on the conclusions of a study being carried out by the British Geological Survey and Keele University.[26] Campaigners have pointed to a possible conflict of interest regarding Keele's involvement in the study, since Cuadrilla runs a summer programme for some of the university's geology students.[29]
Cuadrilla commissioned an investigation into the seismic activity, which concluded that the tremors were probably caused by the lubrication of an existing fault plane by the unintended spread of fracking fluid below ground.[30][31][32] Cuadrilla's estimates of how far up along faults fracking fluid could migrate during such incidents reinforced concerns among campaigners in Balcombe that, if accidental lubrication of an undetected fault line could and did occur there, it might result in disastrous contamination of the area's water table.[33][34]
Even as Cuadrilla began fracking, it emerged that the effects (at least those less immediately obvious than earthquakes) of its activities, as well as the company's estimates of how much gas it could extract, would be kept secret for four years.[4] Six months later, a leaked series of letters between government officials and Cuadrilla revealed that the UK's fracking industry will face only minimal regulation; for example, companies were not being expected to monitor, measure or analyse the polluted liquids that come back up the boreholes, liquids that must be disposed of elsewhere.[35] A heavily criticised 2004 study by the US Environmental Protection Agency—which concluded fracking posed "little or no threat to drinking water", a conclusion that was the likely basis for fracking's controversial exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2005—operated within this same narrow framework: complete inattention to anything other than the injection phase of the fracking process.[36][37]: 780 The leaked correspondence also showed, amongst other things, that the government had thus far looked into neither the issue of fracking and climate change, nor the effects of the industry on renewables.[35] According to The Guardian, even Cuadrilla wants better regulation of the UK fracking industry,[35] but the Energy Secretary Charles Hendry is not in favour.[8]
In September 2011, with licences having been granted to two energy companies for exploratory drilling in Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset Council voiced concern that, should the test drilling yield a significant find of shale gas, any subsequent fracking could contaminate Bath's famous hot springs.[9] Similar worries about future fracking have been aired in the Vale of Glamorgan.[38] Industry assurances about its forthcoming plans were tarnished in January 2012, though, when Cuadrilla Resources came under fire for its categorical denials of plans to frack near Balcombe after documents from parent company AJ Lucas materialised appearing to indicate the complete opposite.[39]
In arguing its case, Cuadrilla claims that only three chemicals—a polyacrylamide lubricant commonly found in cosmetics, hydrochloric acid, and a biocide used to purify drinking water—will be used in the UK, compared with the hundreds that can be used in the United States, and that it has invested in more expensive, better equipment than that used by companies operating in the US.[40] The company also relies heavily on industry analysis of a European Climate Foundation report, though the analysis is rejected by the ECF itself.[40]
Opposition
According to Cuadrilla's communication advisor, "Gasland [the US feature documentary about shale gas] really changed everything. . . . Before that, shale gas was not seen as routinely controversial."[40] There are now a number of protest groups, which range from the nationwide, like Frack Off, to the local, such as Ribble Estuary Against Fracking, NO Fracking in Sussex and The Vale Says NO.[41] Green Party leader Caroline Lucas has proposed two early day motions on fracking, both calling for a moratorium.[42]
See also
- Hydraulic fracturing
- Shale gas
- Environmental impact of the oil shale industry
- Gasland, a 2010 documentary by Josh Fox exploring the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing
- Eddy covariance, a method to directly measure emissions of gases displayed by hydraulic fracturing into the atmosphere
- Cost of electricity by source
References
- ^ British Geological Survey (2011), The Unconventional Hydrocarbon Resources of Britain's Onshore Basins - Shale Gas (PDF), Department of Energy & Climate Change, retrieved 26 February 2012
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ignored (help) - ^ House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee (23 May 2011), Shale Gas: Fifth Report of Session 2010–12, Volume I (PDF), London: The Stationery Office, retrieved 26 February 2012
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ignored (help) - ^ Robin McKie (25 February 2012). "Fracking: answer to our energy crisis, or could it be a disaster for the environment?". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ^ a b Tim Webb (1 March 2011). "Results of controversial 'fracking' for shale gas in UK will be kept secret". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ Terry Macalister (9 October 2011). "China eyes shale gas and uranium firms". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ "Blackpool shale gas drilling begins". BBC News. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ Andre Lamberti (7 July 2011). "Igas Energy starts construction at Doe Green 3 site, well to spud mid-July". Proactiveinvestors. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ a b Charles Hendry (22 September 2011). "The potential for shale gas is worth exploration". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ a b "'Fracking threat' to Bath's hot springs, says council". BBC News. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Andrew Gilligan (26 November 2011). "Field of dreams, or an environment nightmare?". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 27 February 2012. Cite error: The named reference "Gilligan 26Nov2011" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Terry Macalister (21 September 2011). "Vast reserves of shale gas revealed in UK". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ US Energy Information Adminstration (2011). "Country Analysis Briefs: Venezuela, Natural Gas". Retrieved 27 February 2012.
According to OGJ, Venezuela had 179 Tcf of proven natural gas reserves in 2011, the second largest in the Western Hemisphere behind the United States.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Karl West (25 September 2011). "Enough gas in Lancashire 'to last Britain for 56 years'". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ a b Jonathan Leake (12 February 2012). "Gas find is enough to last 70 years". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ Charles Clover (25 November 2011). "Easing the energy crisis with a bit of Blackpool rock". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ Walton, John K. (1987). Lancashire: a social history, 1558–1939. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 111.
- ^ "Lancashire: Historical statistics—Population". Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ a b "Shale gas firm finds 'vast' gas resources in Lancashire". BBC News. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ Caroline Rigby (1 July 2011). "Shale gas fracking: call for Welsh Government policy". BBC News. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ "IGas finds vast shale gas reserves in newly acquired license". ICIS Heren. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ Kevin Anderson; et al. (2011), Shale gas: a provisional assessment of climate change and environmental impacts (PDF), The Tyndall Centre, University of Manchester, retrieved 26 February 2012
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ignored (help) - ^ "Fracking". East Kent Mercury. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ^ Groundwater Body, Groundwater Quality Reports (PDF), Environment Agency – Southern Region, 6 May 2008, p. 5, retrieved 1 March 2012
{{citation}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Water for People and the Environment: Water Resources Strategy, Regional Action Plan for Southern Region (PDF), Environment Agency, 2009, p. 1, retrieved 1 March 2012
{{citation}}
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ignored (help); Unknown parameter|separator=
ignored (help) - ^ Terry Macalister (17 January 2011). "Warning over UK shale gas projects". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ a b Sylvia Pfeifer and Elizabeth Rigby (1 June 2011). "Earthquake fears halt shale gas fracking". The Financial Times. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ^ "Shale gas drilling update". Mark Menzies' website. 5 June 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ^ "Shale gas fracking: MPs call for safety inquiry after tremors". BBC News. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ "Students spend the summer with Cuadrilla". Cuadrilla Resources. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ^ C.J. de Pater and S. Baisch (2 November 2011), Geomechanical Study of Bowland Shale Seismicity (PDF), Cuadrilla Resources, retrieved 22 February 2012
{{citation}}
: Unknown parameter|separator=
ignored (help) - ^ Rearden, Sarah (2 November 2011). "U.K. Quakes Likely Caused by Fracking". HighWire Press, American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ "Fracking tests near Blackpool 'likely cause' of tremors". BBC News. 2 November 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ "Earthquake firm plans to frack 500 feet below Sussex water supplies". gasdrillinginbalcombe. NO Fracking in Sussex. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ "Cuadrilla documents: Balcombe water vulnerable to fracking". gasdrillinginbalcombe. NO Fracking in Sussex. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ a b c John Vidal (23 September 2011). "Fracking industry will be minimally regulated in UK, letters reveal". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ Ian Urbina (3 March 2011). "Pressure Limits Efforts to Police Drilling for Gas". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
- ^ Template:Cite article
- ^ "Fracking fears over gas drilling in Vale of Glamorgan". BBC News. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ^ "Company documents contradict Miller's 'We have no intention to frack in Balcombe'". gasdrillinginbalcombe. NO Fracking in Sussex. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ a b c Fiona Harvey (20 April 2011). "'Gasland changed everything' – fracking firm battles to woo English villagers". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2012. Cite error: The named reference "Harvey 20Apr2011" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ James Melley (28 September 2011). "New groups protest at shale gas". BBC News. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ^ Caroline Lucas (8 September 2011). "EDM2159 Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) in 2010-12". edms.org.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
Caroline Lucas (20 October 2011). EDM2292 "EDM2292 Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) (No. 2)". edms.org.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2012.{{cite web}}
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External links
- E-petition calling for a ban on fracking in the UK
- Gasland trailer
- Fracking Hell: The Untold Story by Earth Focus and the Ecologist Film Unit
- DECC's FAQs on shale gas
- British Geological Survey's information about shale gas
- In-depth Guardian coverage of shale gas and fracking
- Cuadrilla Resources website
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