Page 6 - Euroil Week 44 2019

EurOil COMMENTARY EurOil
UK bans fracking ahead of snap election
The UK’s shale gas is likely to remain locked under the ground for the foreseeable future
UK
WHAT:
The UK government has temporarily banned the use of hydraulic fracturing.
WHY:
The move comes ahead of a snap December election, in which the Conservatives hope
to take seats away
from Labour in areas
of northern England where fracking has been proposed.
WHAT NEXT:
Prospects for UK shale gas were already dim prior to the moratorium being announced.
THE UK’s Conservative government has imposed a temporary moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing following new research highlighting the unpredictability of tremors caused by the unconventional tech- nique’s use.
The move marks a U-turn for the govern- ment, which is hoping to shore up public support ahead of a snap general election scheduled for December 12. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is banking his success at the polls on seizing seats from opposition Labour in northern England, where several developers have proposed using fracking to produce gas.
A report by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) published on November 2 found that it was impossible to predict the probability or size of tremors caused by fracking, based on data col- lected at Cuadrilla Resource’s Preston New Road (PNR) site in Fylde, Lancashire. Cuadrilla is the only company to have used the technique.
“The OGA believes that further detailed geomechanical analysis would be needed before we could evaluate with confidence whether hydraulic fracturing could resume in the Fylde, or elsewhere, consistent with the government’s policy aims,” the Department for Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said on November 2.
The government has also said it will not proceed with planned reforms to shale gas leg- islation, which had been expected to loosen restrictions for projects.
“We’ve always been clear that we will follow the science,” Business Secretary Andrea Lead- som said on BBC radio. “We cannot be certain that shale gas can be extracted safely, and there- fore we must impose this moratorium until the science changes.”
Leadsom, known for her pro-shale stance, stressed that the ban on fracking would only be temporary, as shale gas was a “huge opportunity” for the UK.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn dis- missed the government’s shift in policy as an “election stunt.”
“The Conservatives’ temporary pause of fracking is an election stunt to try and win a few votes,” he said in a tweet. “Boris Johnson described fracking as ‘glorious news for human- ity.’ We cannot trust him. Labour would ban fracking. That’s real change.”
The Liberal Democrats have pledged to take a similarly hard line on fracking if elected.
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 44 07•November•2019