Page 13 - EurOil Week 10 2022

EurOil POLICY EurOil

UK government views lifting

fracking ban as option

UK THE UK government says lifting a ban on to spur exploration for new discoveries. Those
hydraulic fracturing could be one of the options rounds have been on hold since 2019, when the
It was the current on the table as it scrambles to find ways of bol- Oil and Gas Authority said it would carry out a
PM that imposed the stering the country’s energy security in the wake review to see if licensing policy was in line with
fracking moratorium. of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. the UK’s climate goals.
Now he may be It was current Prime Minister Boris Johnson “We have got to make sure we have substi-
rethinking that position. that took the decision in late 2019 to impose tute supply,” Johnson said in a press conference
a moratorium on fracking in late 2019, even on March 7. “One of the things we are looking
though the Conservative Party that he leads has at is the possibility of using more of our own
traditionally advocated the use of the unconven- hydrocarbons … We need to increase our
tional technique as a means of unlocking tril- self-reliance.”
lions of cubic metres of shale gas. However, the The UK only sources 4% of its gas from
government is now under pressure to do more Russia, but a disruption in deliveries to Europe
to shield consumers from high energy costs and would surely have a ripple effect, leading to
improve security of supply, following months higher prices and potentially shortages.
of soaring gas prices and the potential risk that Only a handful of companies attempted to
Russia might disrupt gas supply to Europe if the develop shale gas reserves in the UK prior to the
crisis in Ukraine escalates. moratorium being introduced, and many found
“Everyone would expect the prime minis- their progress was stifled by opposition from
ter to look at all our options,” a Downing Street local authorities and environmentalists. Cuad-
spokesperson told the Financial Times on March rilla Resources, which has spearhead shale gas
9, when asked if Johnson would consider lifting development in the UK, was ordered in February
the moratorium. to cement the only two horizontal shale gas wells
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has in the UK in February, and has warned it would
similarly said recently that the government has be very costly to restore them.
always had an “open mind” to fracking, as long Meanwhile, despite soaring energy prices,
as it could be done in a way that is both safe and the UK public remains strongly against shale gas
sustainable. development. YouGov’s latest poll shows that in
Johnson is looking to make several adjust- December, 55% of the public were against the
ments to the UK’s energy strategy in the wake UK extracting shale gas, while only 19% were
of Russia’s invasion. In addition to onshore shale in favour and 25% were undecided. In the past,
gas development, he is reportedly looking to polls have shown that the public had an even
resume offshore oil and gas licensing rounds worse opinion of shale gas than of coal. ™

Week 10 10•March•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P13