Assessment finds major fracking effort would create jobs and income for local communities, but require thousands of wells to be drilled and dozens of daily tanker journeys

Damian Carrington
theguardian.com, Tuesday 17 December 2013 15.57 GMT

Two-thirds of the UK's land will be available for fracking companies to license, a government map published on Tuesday shows, with new areas opened up in the Midlands, Cumbria and Wales.

Ministers said major energy companies had expressed interest in new shale gas licences and up to 150 applications are expected, which could cover about 15% of the UK.

Almost £1bn of financial incentives and revenues could be injected into local communities that accept fracking, according to a new assessment of the impact of a largescale shale gas industry on the UK, published the same day.

The report, commissioned by the government, suggests that a major fracking effort would deliver about 25% of the UK's annual gas needs in its peak years in the 2020s and provide up to 32,000 jobs, although as few as one-fifth of these could be local.

However, Keith Taylor, the Green party's MEP for south-east England, said: "In reality, many people will be unwilling to accept air pollution, noisy trucks, gas flaring and potential water contamination in exchange for the government's bribe."

The assessment, required by law, was produced by consultants Amec and also warns that the billions of litres of polluted wastewater produced by a big shale gas industry "could place a significant burden on existing wastewater treatment capacity". Fracking uses high pressure water and chemicals to fracture underground rock and release trapped gas.

"There is a huge amount of shale gas underneath us all and what is important for public confidence is to show the regulatory framework is robust," said energy minister, Michael Fallon. He said Tuesday's announcements were "stepping up the search for shale gas" but declined to say whether he would welcome fracking under his own house. The government also published a "roadmap" of existing regulations covering the sector, intended to "provide certainty to investors and local communities".

Fallon said: "There could be large amounts of shale gas available in the UK, but we won't know for sure the scale of this prize until further exploration takes place. It is an exciting prospect, which could bring growth, jobs and energy security. But we must develop shale responsibly."

Environmental campaigners criticised the government's drive to develop shale gas. Friends of the Earth's senior UK climate campaigner, Tony Bosworth, said: "These plans cast a dark shadow over many communities across Britain who could now face the threat of fracking in their backyard."

Greenpeace's Anna Jones said: "There's no public mandate for this industrialisation of the English countryside and for digging up new forms of fossil fuels. Real energy security in the UK can only be achieved through clean renewable sources and energy efficiency."

In the "high activity" scenario used in the Amec assessment, 2,880 wells would be drilled a year from 120 well pad locations at the industry's peak, with the wells operating for 20 years. In that scenario, 16,000-32,000 direct and indirect jobs could be created, Amec calculated. But under a "low activity" scenario, with 380 wells drilled a year from 30 sites, just 2,500-5,000 jobs would be created.

In August, the prime minister, David Cameron, said 74,000 jobs could be created, quoting a report from the Institute of Directors that envisaged 4,000 wells.

Estimates of the financial incentives for local communities were based on current industry plans to give an upfront £100,000 to a community that accepts a fracking exploration site. If the site goes into production, 1% of revenues would then flow into the community, leading to a further £2.4m-£4.8m per site.

The Amec report found that a total of 58-144bn litres of water would be needed to frack the wells envisaged in the high activity scenario. That scenario would also see up to 108bn litres of waste water contaminated with fracking chemical and radioactive elements that occur naturally in rock.

In November, the UK's water industry admitted fracking may be impractical in parts of the UK due to the scarcity of local water supplies. Some of the fracking water would need to be trucked into sites, with wastewater being trucked out, and Amec estimated 14 – 51 journeys a day for each site, which "could have an adverse impact on traffic congestion, noise or air quality".

Fallon said the impact of such truck movements would be considered under the planning permission required by fracking companies and that night-time and weekend journeys had been banned at some existing sites. He also echoed "major concerns" expressed by Cameron that potential EU regulation of fracking would damage the development of the industry.

Cameron has written to José Manuel Barroso, president of the European commission, saying the industry "can be regulated in a safe and sustainable manner" with existing rules, although a 2012 report by the UK's Royal Society recommended new, specific regulations for fracking.

Fallon highlighted the "enormous impact" shale gas has had on gas prices in the US, echoing both Cameron and the chancellor, George Osborne, who have said fracking will reduce gas prices in the UK. But they have been contradicted by Lord Browne, the chair of Cuadrilla and former BP chief executive, and by the economist Lord Stern, who called the suggestions "baseless economics".

Tom Greatrex, Labour's shadow energy minister, said: "Rather than focusing on the need for robust regulation and comprehensive monitoring to address legitimate environmental concerns, the government seem to prefer to give licence to those who make simplistic comparisons to the US that don't stand up to scrutiny."

The Amec report said that shale gas could reduce the UK carbon emissions if it replaced imported liqueified natural gas (LNG), but noted that if LNG and coal no longer used in the UK were used elsewhere, then global carbon emissions would increase.

There could be large amounts of shale gas available in the UK, but we won't know for sure the scale of this prize until further exploration takes place. It is an exciting prospect, which could bring growth, jobs and energy security. But we must develop shale responsibly.

Whoever said there are no more talented comedians any more?

Ian R. Crane has been doing a lot to spread the word about the dangers of fracking. He covered Balcombe and is now covering Barton Moss.
Fracking Nightmare: Episode 18 of his ongoing series.


Check out the whole series on the UK Columb youtube channel: www.youtube.com/user/ukcolumn?feature=watch

Fracking should be banned in national parks to protect rare wildlife and fragile habitats, the National Trust has said, warning that environmental regulations for shale gas exploration are “inadequate”.
In a blow for the Government, which is keen to encourage fracking, the organisation has cast doubt on whether the process is safe and called for the creation of “frack-free zones” across Britain – including in some of the areas believed to be richest in shale gas.
Ministers are this year planning to offer energy companies the chance to apply for rights to drill across almost 40,000 square miles of Britain in the hope that development of vast shale gas resources could bring down energy bills.
But, in a joint report with wildlife and countryside groups including the RSPB, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and the Angling Trust, the National Trust says that 12 per cent of this land - about 5,000 square miles - is covered by protected wildlife areas, nature reserves or national Parks and should be excluded.
A dozen National Parks, more than 3,600 Sites of Special Scientific Interest and more than 1,500 wildlife trust sites that could be partly or wholly licensed for fracking must be safeguarded, it says.
“The regulation of shale gas needs to be improved if it’s to offer adequate protection for sensitive environments,” Simon Pryor, the National Trust’s natural environment director said.
“Whilst the Government is keen to see rapid roll out of fracking, there’s a real danger that the regulatory system simply isn’t keeping pace.
“The Government should rule out fracking in the most sensitive areas and ensure that the regulations offer sufficient protection to our treasured natural and historic environment.”
Criticism that shale gas exploration is poorly regulated will be particularly troubling for ministers, who insist that fracking is safe but have acknowledged they are already losing the battle for public opinion over the controversial process.
Fracking involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into the ground at high pressure to hydraulically fracture shale rocks and extract oil and gas trapped within them.
The report says there is a risk that shale gas exploitation could cause water contamination or shortages and have “serious impacts” for a range of threatened species including salmon and pink-footed geese.
It recommends a series of changes to regulation to “make fracking safer” including making full independent environmental assessments of drilling plans a legal requirement and increased monitoring of fracking operations.
Martin Harper, the RSPB’s conservation director, said: “The Prime Minister has been a great advocate for the shale gas industry. He has said we have the strongest environmental controls in this country and nothing will go ahead if there are environmental dangers.
“Our report puts a spotlight on these risks and reinforces the growing concern about the impact fracking could have on our countryside and wildlife. We argue that more needs to be done to ensure fracking rules are fit for purpose.”
The North York Moors national park is one of the areas that is particularly promising for shale gas, according to a study published by the British Geological Survey last year. Some energy companies already have rights to drill there.
The BGS is also preparing to release a study into shale potential in the south of England, which is expected to show that the South Downs national park is rich in shale oil.
No fracking has taken place in a national park to date, although there has been other oil and gas drilling.
Ministers on Wednesday night rejected a “blanket ban” on fracking in national parks and said local councils were best placed to decide whether it was suitable.
“We have regulations in place to ensure on-site safety, prevent water contamination, mitigate seismic activity and air pollution and we have been successfully regulating for gas and oil drilling for over 50 years,” a spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said.
UKOOG, which represents the shale industry, said the report contained “critical inaccuracies” but said the “vast majority” of its recommendations were already in place or under discussion.
The UK onshore oil and gas industry was “one of the heaviest regulated industries in the UK”, it added.

The threat posed to wildlife by fracking is laid bare today as a new report identifies vast swathes of environmentally sensitive land across Britain that could be excavated for shale oil and gas.

The land covers tens of thousands of square kilometres and includes thousands of sites such as Morecombe Bay in the North West, one of the most important areas in Europe for hosting wintering birds, as well as the North York Moors and the Thames Estuary.

An alliance of wildlife groups including RSPB and the National Trust is calling on the government to establish “frack-free zones” across the country to protect areas of particular environmental importance.

The proposed zones would cover a total area of about 42,000 square kilometres – or about 18 per cent of Britain. Some of them are already under threat from licences previously granted to fracking companies, some could be put at risk from licences due to be auctioned in a giant licensing round this summer, while others are not currently in any danger. The so-called 14th licensing round in the summer potentially covers about 40 per cent of Britain, although experts expect only a fraction of this will end up being licensed – at least this time round, as gas companies initially compete for the most attractive locations.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said Kent should accept the need for fracking plants because shale gas represents a "God-given" opportunity to bring down energy bills and boost manufacturing.

He also said the risks associated with exploring for shale gas and drilling were no worse than those linked to east Kent's coal mining industry 30 years ago.