The extraction of natural gas by hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) of shale beds is at an early stage of development in the UK, with just two test sites to date.
Both have gained a certain notoriety in the popular press, Preese Hall near Blackpool for the minor earth tremors that resulted from fracking activity and Balcombe in West Sussex which attracted vociferous anticipatory protestors despite no fracking taking place. The Government believe fracking has the potential to produce gas cheaply (at a time when North Sea oil and gas production is tailing off), reduce carbon emissions by displacing oil in power stations and industrial processes, and increase both our energy security and the supply of UK-sourced ethane for the chemical industry.
The Infrastructure Act 2015, which came into force in February, contains various measures to facilitate the process of shale gas exploration and exploitation. These include the right to frack below a depth of 300m without the landowner’s consent.
While the Bowland Shale across the north of England undoubtedly has potential as a source of gas, economics will ultimately be the deciding factor. The only way to assess the likely gas yield and the cost per unit of gas is to carry out more exploration and frack some test wells. Fracking in the USA has resulted in pollution of groundwater and other adverse environmental and public health impacts, but in many cases this is the result of hands off regulation and practices that it is said would not be permitted in the UK, such as the over-exploitation of water resources, storage of effluent in open ponds and the use of undeclared chemicals in the fracking fluid. Strong regulation may be key to winning over stakeholder opinion in the medium term, however in the short term at least, fracking on UK soil is likely to generate opposition.
For further information please contact;
paul.bratt@symmetrylaw.co.uk
victoria.joy@symmetrylaw.co.uk
