High Pressure High Volume fracturing of the type more commonly referred to as ‘fracking’ has not been used at Wytch Farm nor at Beckingham marshes. However, fracking is a general term relating to a range of techniques as outlined in this Portsmouth University paper.

Wytch Farm and Beckingham Marshes are both conventional fields and have used conventional reservoir techniques. These techniques sometimes involve limited fracturing of hydrocarbon bearing reservoir rock in the immediate vicinity of the well bore.

This answer was provided by Professor Peter Styles, Geophysicist at Keele University:

“The gas in shale is not ‘free gas’ (as in a conventional gas reservoir) as it is held as a liquid-like layer in the coal structure by a process called the Lennard-Jones Potential, a kind of Van der Waals force, which only acts on molecules over very short distances and so the shale is not in any way ‘supported by the pressure of gas’.

“Removing the gas does not compromise the capability of the shale to provide support to overlying strata. This is in marked contrast to coal mining where large volumes of coal are removed and the rock must then subside to accommodate this.

“The pressure is simply the weight of the rock, which depends on the depth and exact nature of the rock column but this is not in any way altered and there is no need to ‘maintain pressure’ at all.”

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• What presure is the gas in the ground before its removed? And what is going to replace the gas? And how are you going to maintain the pressure and for how long? And what will be the cost of maintaining this pressure indefinitely?
• What's going to be replacing the stuff that gets taken?
• What are you going to put back once the shale is extracted? Nothing has been put back in coal mines? What about subsidence?

Yes, but the technology is improving all of the time, mainly through developments in the US. The US Society of Petroleum Engineers estimate that 2.5 million hydraulic fracturing operations have been conducted worldwide, with over 1 million in the US.¹

In the UK, modern shale gas extraction via high-volume hydraulic fracturing is in its early stages. There are currently two planning applications pending near Blackpool which, if granted, will allow an operator to use the technology to explore for shale gas. Further permissions are required for commercial development, after exploration testing has taken place. Around 2,000 wells have been drilled in the UK and approximately 10% of these have been hydraulically fractured², but these were not the high-volume hydraulic fracturing that is widespread in the US.

Dr James Verdon, geophysicist at Bristol University told us that: “Conventional fracks tended to use vertical wells, and gel frack fluid (often diesel-based) while shale gas fracking uses horizontal wells, and ‘slick-water’ fracking fluid, which is water based and has fewer additives. Shale gas fracking has also tended to use larger volumes of fluid.”

Shale gas is a fossil fuel. The process of extraction, including drilling the wells and compressing the gas extracted, also involves the use of fossil fuels to power motors at the surface.

You may also be interested to know that shale gas investment does not come at the expense of investment in renewable energy, and it’s not a case of one or the other. Stephen Tindale, the former director of Greenpeace, said in May 2014 that climate campaigners should support fracking for shale gas. He says that the reason for this is that the use of shale gas would enable the UK to reduce the burning of coal.¹

The Department of Energy and Climate Change says “gas is the cleanest fossil fuel and has half the carbon footprint of coal when used to generate electricity.”² The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 35th Assessment Report, published in April 2014 also said that avoiding climate change will mean reducing coal use before reducing the use of gas. However, they concluded more research needs to be done on methane released into the atmosphere during shale gas extraction³.

Professor Richard Selley of Imperial College London said: “The government’s energy policy is to solve the ‘Trilemma’ for providing energy that is economic, that does least damage to the environment, and whose source is secure. It supports hydraulic fracturing for shale gas and oil as part of a balanced mix of diverse energy sources, including nuclear and renewables. All 3 major parties support this solution to the energy trilemma.

¹ http://climateanswers.info/2014/05/the-climate-case-for-shale-gas/

Natural gas from shale rock is the same as all natural gas. The only difference is that it is trapped in impermeable shale rock. There are a number of stages in the technical process, with each element requiring permission from the regulators and the relevant local authority – in consultation with local communities.

The part of the process most people have heard of is hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as ‘fracking’. Essentially this is the process of extracting natural gas from impermeable shale rock reserves by pumping water and sand at high pressure into the rock to enlarge or create fractures, releasing the natural gas. A small quantity of chemicals (0.5%) is normally added to improve efficiency.

Once the rock is fractured, small particles (usually sand) are pumped into the fractures to keep them open when the pressure is released. The gas or oil can then flow through the well to surface operations which separate and process the gas or oil. If oil is recovered, it will be taken to an oil refinery or petrochemical plant.

The stages of operation are:

1. Exploration – which involves drilling wells to take samples of the rock. The well is drilled in several stages of metal pipes.
2. Appraisal – studying the samples and potentially flow-testing the well via hydraulic fracturing (with local authority permission).
3. Production – which is the commercial operation of the site to extract gas, including drilling a number of narrow horizontal wells, deep underground, from the main vertical well. Exploration occurs for only a short time and any gas discovered at that stage is likely to be flared, but if a gas well goes into commercial production, it will be connected to the country's network of gas pipelines.
4. Decommissioning, to return the site to its previous state.

You can read more about the process in this UKOOG fact sheet: http://www.ukoog.org.uk/images/ukoog/pdfs/fact%20sheets/development-drilling.pdf

Additionally, Professor Peter Styles of Keele University, who has studied mining-induced seismicity and subsidence for more than 30 years, stated that “the methane is released from the shale without altering the shale matrix and that therefore this remains to support the rock and does not cause subsidence.”

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• It's a good idea how is it going to be extracted
• What does it involve?
• America's results have shown it works. Is it exactly the same process?
• We need to know more about it before we accept it? Is it noisy?
• What are you doing?
• I don't fully understand how you can catch the gas.
• I dont think we should do it. Does it cause air pockets to explode beneath the Earth's crust?

It is not 100% possible to predict all of the outcomes. For example, operators cannot 100% tell if a potential source of shale gas can be recovered in a way that it economically viable, until exploration takes place. However, we can look at a number of estimates for an answer.

The environment and CO2

Natural gas from shale rock is the same as all natural gas. The only difference is that it is trapped in impermeable shale rock. Whilst burning shale gas to produce energy does cause CO2 emissions, a greenhouse gas, generating electricity from gas produces about half of the emissions of generating electricity from coal.¹ Greenhouse gases contribute to climate change.

At present we get 40% of our electricity in this country from burning coal and we need to reduce this figure considerably in order to meet targets to reduce our impact on the environment. Although renewable sources of energy are, of course cleaner than fossil fuels, they are very expensive so even green campaigners, such as Stephen Tindale, support shale gas extraction as a way of helping this country make the transition to renewable energy. We should also remember that we will need a reliable energy source at times when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 35th Assessment Report, published in April 2014 said that avoiding climate change will mean reducing coal use before reducing the use of gas. This is because generating electricity from gas produces about half of the emissions than generating electricity from coal. However, they concluded more research needs to be done on methane released into the atmosphere during shale gas extraction².

The UK’s Committee on Climate Change, which advises the Government on meeting the country’s carbon reduction targets, has concluded:

“UK shale gas production would reduce our dependence on imports and help to meet the UK’s continued gas demand, for example in industry and for heat in buildings, even as we reduce consumption by improving energy efficiency and switching to low-carbon technologies.”³

The environment and methane

However, we also must consider the effects of shale gas escaping into the atmosphere when it is being extracted. Shale gas is mostly methane which is more harmful to the climate than CO2. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency: “Pound for pound, the comparative impact of methane on climate change is over 20 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period.”⁴

Therefore, to ensure the effect on the environment is minimised, it is very important that as much of the gas extracted as possible is used and that as little methane as possible escapes into the atmosphere. The Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) insists that operators must minimise the release of gas into the atmosphere and, when gas can’t be economically used, it must be captured and “flared” to reduce its global warming emissions’.⁵ Beyond exploration, operators will have a commercial incentive not to flare gas, as the gas could otherwise be sold. 

Finally, the shale gas industry in the UK is developing “green completion” based on industry best practice, to reduce the emissions of gases into the air, and this is emphasised in UKOOG’s “UK Onshore Shale Gas Well Guidelines”⁶. This involves using specialist equipment to collect and separate the initial flow of water, sand and gas, so the gas can be prevented from escaping. According to Professor David MacKay, (DECC’s Chief Scientific Advisor), and Dr Timothy Stone (the Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State), “green completions” should be adopted at all stages following exploration.⁷ According to the Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change “Green completions and flaring can reduce methane emissions by as much as 95% versus venting straight into the atmosphere.”⁸

Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London said: “The Government’s energy policy is to solve the ‘Trilemma’ for providing energy that is economic, that does least damage to the environment, and whose source is secure. It supports hydraulic fracturing for shale gas as part of a balanced mix of diverse energy sources, including nuclear and renewables. All 3 major parties support this solution to the energy trilemma.”

The economy

Many people believe that the primary advantage of producing natural gas from shale is that it means we will be less reliant on other countries for our energy and will create new jobs and industries.

Natural gas accounts for around 80% of the UK’s domestic and business heating needs⁸, with 83% of homes heated by this energy resource in 2013, so we must either import more or produce more of our own.¹⁰

Just 11 years ago (in 2003), the UK was actually a net exporter of gas. However, we are now importing more than we are exporting, which means we have to rely on other countries for our gas needs. The Department of Energy and Climate Change suggests that the UK will be importing nearly 70% of the gas we use by 2025, assuming we do not develop shale gas.¹¹ John Williams, Senior Principal at Pöyry, a global consulting and engineering firm, told us that because the UK will still have a demand for gas in the future that if this gas is produced from shale then the requirements for imports will be reduced.  He said “this will have beneficial economic impacts in terms of balance of trade, job creation and increased GDP”.

With regards to investment and job creation, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has produced calculations for a pad of 10 wells, each with four horizontal wells (laterals), which could heat a peak of 400,000 homes. In their model, the IoD assume that each lateral costs £6 million to drill, facility costs are £30 million and decommissioning costs are £40 million, with a total investment of just over £500 million – this includes operating expenditure, which is considerable, and the cost of getting the gas to market.¹² According to Ernst & Young (EY), £333 million of capital investment is required to bring a well-pad of this scale into operation.¹³ This investment will be made by companies without subsidy from taxpayers.

In addition to generating energy, the oil and gas sector provides significant tax revenues to fund public services. A PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, commissioned by Oil and Gas UK in 2011, estimated that the oil and gas sector was the UK’s largest corporation tax contributor with 16.4% of total Government corporation tax receipts. If the tax paid by companies in the supply chain is included, the figure is even higher.

Community

Another benefit for communities, in addition to new jobs and industries, would be new revenues.

The industry has committed to paying £100,000 to the local community living near to each exploratory well site where hydraulic fracturing takes place, together with a £20,000 community benefit payment per unique horizontal well over 200 metres in length and below 300 metres in depth. This will be paid by the operator, regardless of whether or not recoverable deposits are found. In addition, the industry has committed to paying communities 1% of the value of the shale gas that is produced – for a site of 40 horizontal wells, this could be worth £5-10 million in total. 

Finally, operators will pay business rates on their sites – 100% of which will go straight to the local authorities in the area. 

A lot of research has been done into the economic, community and environmental effects of shale gas development. Please take a look at the answers on this website for references to numerous pieces of research conducted by academics, public agencies and other institutions. We have summarised some of this material below for you.

Water

According to the joint Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering report, at the time the report was produced, the available evidence indicates that the risk of water contamination in the UK is very low provided that shale gas extraction takes place at depths of many hundreds of metres or several kilometres – which would be the case here¹.

The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) also agrees that risks to groundwater quality are generally considered to be low in the UK where the shale rock in question often exists at considerable depths below aquifers - meaning that the gas would have to migrate many hundreds of metres between the source rock and overlaying aquifers.²

With regards to interaction between shale and overlaying aquifers, a study by the ReFINE (Researching Fracking in Europe) project found that there was a less than 1% chance of a stimulated hydraulic fracture propagating upwards more than 350 metres, and that the maximum recorded distance was 588 metres. This study recommended that all horizontal fracking wells are drilled at least 600m below aquifers to minimize the risk of stimulated hydraulic fractures providing a pathway for natural gas to migrate upwards and contaminate aquifers³.

Dr James Verdon of the University of Bristol said: “Multiple studies in the USA have confirmed that the hydraulic fracturing process itself has not caused contamination of aquifers. That’s not to say there have been zero accidents or incidents in the USA, but that on the few occasions that problems have been recorded, it’s been due to other drilling-related issues, and not due to fracking.” 

There have been a few examples of water contamination in the US - a recent report from Ohio University found some instances of water contaminated with natural gas. However, this was caused by faulty wells, not by the hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) process⁴. This indicates that water contamination can be prevented with strict regulation from Government and good well design and construction which in the UK is overseen by the Health and Safety Executive.

The environment and CO2

Natural gas from shale rock is the same as all natural gas. The only difference is that it is trapped in impermeable shale rock. Whilst burning shale gas to produce energy does cause CO2 emissions, a greenhouse gas, generating electricity from gas produces about half of the emissions of generating electricity from coal.⁵ Greenhouse gases contribute to climate change.

At present we get 40% of our electricity in this country from burning coal and we need to reduce this figure considerably in order to meet targets to reduce our impact on the environment. Although renewable sources of energy are, of course, cleaner than fossil fuels, they are currently expensive so even green campaigners, such as Stephen Tindale, support shale gas extraction as a way of helping this country make the transition to renewable energy. We should also remember that we will need a reliable energy source at times when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 35th Assessment Report, published in April 2014 said that avoiding climate change will mean reducing coal use before reducing the use of gas. This is because generating electricity from gas produces about half of the emissions than generating electricity from coal. However, they concluded more research needs to be done on methane released into the atmosphere during shale gas extraction⁶.

The UK’s Committee on Climate Change, which advises the Government on meeting the country’s carbon reduction targets, has concluded:

“UK shale gas production would reduce our dependence on imports and help to meet the UK’s continued gas demand, for example in industry and for heat in buildings, even as we reduce consumption by improving energy efficiency and switching to low-carbon technologies.”⁷

The environment and methane

However, we also must consider the effects of shale gas escaping into the atmosphere when it is being extracted. Shale gas is mostly methane which is more harmful to the environment than CO2. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency “Pound for pound, the comparative impact of methane on climate change is over 20 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period.”⁸

Therefore, to ensure the effect on the environment is minimised, it is very important that as much of the gas extracted as possible is used and that as little methane as possible escapes into the atmosphere. The government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) insists that operators must minimise the release of gas into the atmosphere and, when gas can’t be economically used, it must be captured and “flared” to reduce its global warming emissions’.⁹ Beyond exploration, operators will have a commercial incentive not to flare gas, as the gas could otherwise be sold. 

Finally, the shale gas industry in the UK is developing “green completion” based on industry best practice, to reduce the emissions of gases into the air, and this is emphasised in UKOOG’s “UK Onshore Shale Gas Well Guidelines”¹⁰. This involves using specialist equipment to collect and separate the initial flow of water, sand and gas, so the gas can be prevented from escaping. According to Professor David MacKay, (DECC’s Chief Scientific Advisor), and Dr Timothy Stone (the Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State), “green completions” should be adopted at all stages following exploration.¹¹ According to the Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change “Green completions and flaring can reduce methane emissions by as much as 95% versus venting straight into the atmosphere.”¹²

Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London said: “The Government’s energy policy is to solve the ‘Trilemma’ for providing energy that is economic, that does least damage to the environment, and whose source is secure. It supports hydraulic fracturing for shale gas as part of a balanced mix of diverse energy sources, including nuclear and renewables. All 3 major parties support this solution to the energy trilemma.”

Public health

The environmental aspect that appears to have most relevance to health, as with many industrial processes, is the impact on air quality. Public Health England (part of the Department of Health) has completed a comprehensive review of the potential health impact of shale gas extraction. The review found that the potential risks to public health from exposure to the emissions associated with shale gas extraction will be low if the operations are properly run and regulated¹³. For this study and, in addition to the natural gas released in the process, they noted that that extraction will produce emissions because of the industrial processes on site such as engines to power drills and compressors to capture gas.

The economy

Many people believe that the primary advantage of producing natural gas from shale is that it means we will be less reliant on other countries for our energy and will create new jobs and industries.

Natural gas accounts for around 80% of the UK’s domestic and business heating needs¹⁴, with 83% of homes heated by this energy resource in 2013, so we must either import more or produce more of our own.¹⁵

Just 11 years ago (in 2003), the UK was actually a net exporter of gas. However, we are now importing more than we are exporting, which means we have to rely on other countries for our gas needs. The Department of Energy and Climate Change suggests that the UK will be importing nearly 70% of the gas we use by 2025, assuming we do not develop shale gas.¹⁶ John Williams, Senior Principal at Pöyry, a global consulting and engineering firm, told us that because the UK will still have a demand for gas in the future that if this gas is produced from shale then the requirements for imports will be reduced.  He said, “this will have beneficial economic impacts in terms of balance of trade, job creation and increased GDP”.

With regards to investment and job creation, the Institute of Directors has produced calculations for a pad of 10 wells, each with four horizontal wells (laterals), which could heat a peak of 400,000 homes. In their model, the IoD assume that each lateral costs £6 million to drill, facility costs are £30 million and decommissioning costs are £40 million, with a total investment of just over £500 million – this includes operating expenditure, which is significant, and the cost of getting the gas to market.¹⁷ According to Ernst & Young (EY), £333 million of capital investment is required to bring a well-pad of this scale into operation.¹⁸ This investment will be made by companies without subsidy from taxpayers.

In addition to generating energy, the oil and gas sector provides significant tax revenues to fund public services. A PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, commissioned by Oil and Gas UK in 2011, estimated that the oil and gas sector was the UK’s largest corporation tax contributor with 16.4% of total Government corporation tax receipts. If the tax paid by companies in the supply chain is included, the figure is even higher.

Community

The industry has committed to paying £100,000 to the local community living near to each exploratory well site where hydraulic fracturing takes place, together with a £20,000 community benefit payment per unique horizontal well over 200 metres in length and below 300 metres in depth. This will be paid by the operator, regardless of whether or not recoverable deposits are found. In addition, the industry has committed to paying communities 1% of the value of the shale gas that is produced – for a site of 40 horizontal wells, this could be worth £5-10 million in total.  With regards to the long-term, it is also important to note that each well pad is temporary. Once a site has finished producing natural gas or oil it is then decommissioned in order to return the site to its original condition. This involves removing all of the surface equipment and making sure that the wells are safely cemented and capped. Typically, this process takes around six months to a year.

No, a ‘mini fall-off test’ (MFO) is not classed as ‘Hydraulic Fracturing’. A ‘mini fall-off’ test is undertaken by operators to test the physical properties of the oil and gas bearing shale rock, with the primary intent of determining the  nature of the rock rather than to produce gas or oil. They are short in duration and small in volume, and are used to:

a) Determine the pore pressure within the formation,

b) Determine the permeability of the reservoir,

c) Establish the rate of leak-off of injected fluid into the reservoir, and

d) Test the pressure at which the opening and/or extending of existing narrow fractures or the creation of new fractures (under high but controlled pressure) would be initiated

It is difficult to 100% confirm anything but it must be noted that, at present, the UK is reliant on other countries for much of its energy, especially gas. We do have a growing renewables sector including solar and wind power but most of us (about 80%) rely on gas to cook our food and heat our homes.

Just 11 years ago (in 2003), the UK was actually a net exporter of gas. However, we are now importing more than we are exporting, which means we have to rely on other countries for our gas needs. The Department of Energy and Climate Change suggests that the UK will be importing nearly 70% of the gas we use by 2025, assuming we do not develop shale gas.¹ John Williams, Senior Principal at Pöyry, a global consulting and engineering firm, told us that because the UK will still have a demand for gas in the future that if this gas is produced from shale then the requirements for imports will be reduced.  He said “this will have beneficial economic impacts in terms of balance of trade, job creation and increased GDP”.

We therefore strongly agree with the assertion that fracking is good for the UK’s energy self-sufficiency.

This is a tricky questions to answer as there are quite a lot of variables to consider including the planning process. Operators need to apply for a get permission from local councils before they can explore for shale gas and oil which can take months.

The initial exploration process to determine whether gas can be extracted can take around two to four months but, before this, the company involved will have had to been granted planning permission from the local council, which can itself take many months.

After the exploration phase, the results are assessed and further tests will often be carried out for four to six months. If these results prove that shale gas can be extracted safely and efficiently, the operator will apply for planning permission to move into production. This diagram, produced by the Government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change, shows the stages and lengths of time of exploration and development.

Once the site has finished producing natural gas or oil it is then decommissioned in order to return the site to its original condition. This involves removing all of the surface equipment and making sure that the wells are safely blocked. Typically, this process takes around six months.

We assume that your question also referred to drilling for fossil fuels more broadly. Of course, we agree that it is important to invest in renewable sources of energy as well.

Most experts believe that the UK should have a mix of energy sources but should do more to reduce carbon emissions¹. In 2013, renewables accounted for just under 6% of the UK’s overall energy – including heating, transport and electricity – so natural gas will still be needed for some time as the share of renewables grows². 

Stephen Tindale, the former director of Greenpeace, said in May 2014 that climate campaigners should support fracking for shale gas. He says that the reason for this is that the use of shale gas would enable the UK to reduce the burning of coal.³

Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London said: “You may also be interested to know that renewable energy, solar, wind and batteries for hybrid cars, etc. all use rare earth minerals. 80% of the world’s supply comes from Northern Mongolia from two huge opencast mines that can be seen from space satellites. These minerals are mined, refined, and shipped all around the world. Some of the elements used in renewables, such as cadmium, are so toxic that when no longer used, have to be disposed of in a manner akin to nuclear waste disposal. Furthermore, 80% of the UK’s homes have access to gas for cooking and heating. To switch to using electricity from the renewable energy sources would necessitate reconfiguring the National Power Grid at crippling expense.”

¹ http://climateanswers.info/2014/05/the-climate-case-for-shale-gas/

There is a considerable amount of debate over UK shale gas resources (the total amount of shale gas that exists in the ground) and UK shale reserves – the total amount that can be technically or economically extracted.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) has conducted reviews of the UK’s shale resources, and found abundant shales at depth, although their distribution is not well known’, meaning there is a big difference between the amount of shale gas that exists and the amount that can be used.¹

In its 2013 report into the Bowland-Hodder basin under the central UK, the BGS estimated that there is between 822 trillion cubic feet and 2,281 trillion cubic feet in the area.  This compares with annual UK gas consumption of around 3 trillion cubic feet. However, the BGS does not estimate how much of this gas could be recoverable. The Bowland-Hodder basin stretches across north and east England.

According to an MIT study, recovery rates for shale gas are “typically of the order of 15% to 30%”².

However, no one is sure exactly how large the UK’s total reserves of shale gas are, i.e. how much can be extracted in practice. This is why operators are carrying out exploration work to find out. 

Professor Ernest Rutter of the University of Manchester said: “In addition to this information, you may also be interested to know that a volume of gas is cited at a particular, standardized pressure and temperature, in this case at room pressure and temperature. Estimating volume of recoverable gas from the known volume of shale is little more than a guess. This is why drilling and testing of exploration wells is required to determine how much gas might actually be extracted.”

There is debate over how shale gas could affect UK prices, as we are connected to the European market.

Pöyry (the global consulting and engineering firm specialising in the energy sector), carried out a study to see the effects that the production of natural gas from shale could have on energy prices in Europe, including the UK. They modelled three scenarios based on the amount of shale gas that might be produced in the UK and Europe. These scenarios were based on ‘no shale’, ‘some shale’, and ‘shale boom’. The model projected that wholesale prices could be lower by 6% in the ‘some shale’ scenario and 14% in the ‘shale boom’ scenario¹. However, they added that “most people now agree that Great Britain would not experience a price reduction similar to that which has been seen in the US over the past few years.” John Williams, Senior Principal at Pöyry, told us that shale gas produced from fracking may lead to lower wholesale gas prices in the future, as the Poyry report found. However, he also made clear that any price reduction will not be significant as the country will still be dependent on some imported gas to meet its demand. 

John Williams added that “most people now agree that Great Britain would not experience a price reduction similar to that which has been seen in the US over the past few years. However, shale gas produced here in Great Britain could have other significant economic benefits in terms of job creation, tax revenue and improving the balance of trade.”

In a report produced for the Government, Navigant, a consultancy, said that gas prices could go down if there is a "significant expansion" of shale gas in Europe over the next couple of decades².

The introduction of shale into the system will improve the liquidity of the gas market in Europe and will act as another source of energy other than the North Sea (UK, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands), LNG and gas from Russia via Continental Europe. As a result of this increased liquidity the price rises, forecast by many commentators, could be arrested and this could lead to potentially lower prices in the future.

Yes. Shale gas exploration is conducted before full scale development. The operators must first explore in order to find out where the gas is located and how much of it there is. This is a necessary part of the process as it ensures that the infrastructure is not put in place to produce shale gas before the operators are sure that the gas can be extracted.

If shale gas production is given the go-ahead by the Government and by local councils, there will inevitably come a day when it will run out – as there will with the UK’s oil reserves in the North Sea or any fossil fuel reserves, for that matter.

Like most people, we are of the view that one day the technology will exist to provide most of the country’s energy through renewable sources in a way that is cost effective. Shale gas development is being proposed to be part of the energy mix and to help bridge the gap between where we are today (using coal for 40% of our electricity) and where we hope to be in the future (getting most of our energy from renewable sources).

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• Shale gas is a finite resource. What are we going to burn when that runs out? As we will need oil for plastics and coal is nearly run out. Shouldn't we keep shale gas for emergencies?

• When we have finished scavenging for the last bit of fossil fuel, what wil be left for future generations? Gas burns clean and is an important resource that should be conserved for domestic use as it used to be

• Providing there are proper safeguarding we need power then I have no problems. What happens when it runs out?

• Why not finding renewable sources? Will you be fracking near the Ribble Valley? What's going to happen when the shale gas runs out?

It is not possible to reverse all of the outcomes of the development or production of any fossil fuel as fossil fuels aren’t renewable sources of energy – unlike wind or solar. So, when they are extracted, we use them to heat our homes, cook our food or produce electricity and that energy is converted into heat and light.

However, at a local level, it is possible to reverse the outcomes of shale gas development in that, once the shale gas has been extracted, the wells are filled with cement and capped, the operations are dismantled and the land is returned to how it was before.  

It is not 100% possible to predict all of the outcomes of almost anything. For example, operators cannot 100% tell if a potential source of shale gas can be recovered in high enough quantities to be commercially viable.

If your question is meant with regard to the safety implications of shale gas development, whilst we cannot 100% predict all the outcomes, what the Government can do is put in place regulations to ensure that the likelihood of, for example, water becoming contaminated is minimised. Reducing risks to a minimum is exactly how other industries are regulated. 

Around 2,000 wells have been drilled in the UK and approximately 10% of these have been hydraulically fractured.¹ A map of licensed areas is available from the Department of Energy and Climate Change website which shows where companies are considering seeking permission to conduct surface tests and exploratory drilling.²

According to Dr James Verdon, an applied geophysicist at Bristol University, hydraulic fracturing has been around since the 1940s, and approximately 200 wells in the UK have been fracked, mainly in the East Midlands oil province. 

However, the technology has advanced with time. Dr Verdon said that: “Conventional fracks tended to use vertical wells, and gel frack fluid (often diesel-based) while shale gas fracking uses horizontal wells, and ‘slick-water’ fracking fluid, which is water based and has fewer additives. Shale gas fracking has also tended to use larger volumes of fluid.”

1 https://royalsociety.org/~/media/policy/projects/shale-gas-extraction/2012-06-28-shale-gas.pdf

2 https://www.gov.uk/oil-and-gas-onshore-maps-and-gis-shapefiles 

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• UKOOG say "ind in the UK has been in existence for for over 100 yrs, experience has allowed the ind to develop established drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques. To date, around 2,000 wells have been hydraulically Fractured. Where are they???

• Can you explain how it is possible to say that about 200 wells have been hydraulically fractured when we  know  that some of those wells have been subject to procedures which have been described as fracking but are nowhere near, eg Elswick.

The Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil (OUGO), which is a part of the government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change, says:

“We have made good progress on implementing the Royal Society’s recommendations, including among others the establishment of seismic monitoring through our traffic lights system and the requirement for operators to produce an Environmental Risk Assessment in advance of their planning application.

“The report also made very sensible recommendations on needs for regulating a wider shale gas industry if it takes off as we hope - for the regulators to identify skills gaps, needs for training, etc. These will be taken into account in our preparations for a future production phase.

“One area which does need further development is suitable monitoring of wells post abandonment and arrangements to ensure funding of restoration and other liabilities in case an operator goes out of business. We are currently discussing suitable arrangements for these with industry.”

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• A report by the RS and RAE suggested 10 areas of regulation which the Gvt accepted. Prof Younger, an author of the report, has confirmed that only 1 of these 10 recommendations has been implemented. There are no industry-specific regulations 

• Why have all the RA/RS recommendations for regulations not been implemented? As they haven't, according to PHE report, the practice is not safe as risks too high. What independent body will oversee operations?

The Oxford English dictionary definition of shale gas is natural gas trapped deep underground in impermeable rock. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of using liquid pumped at high pressure to force open existing fissures (very thin cracks) to extract oil or gas.

The government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change describes it as: 

“Hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’ is a technique that uses water, pumped at high pressure, into the rock to create narrow fractures to allow the gas to flow into the well bore to be captured.”¹  

Shale gas is a natural gas (predominantly methane) found in shale rock. Natural gas produced from shale is often referred to as ‘unconventional’ and this refers to the type of rock in which it is found. ‘Conventional’ oil and gas refers to hydrocarbons which are present in sandstone or limestone - instead of shale which is now the main focus of ‘unconventional’ exploration. 

It should be remembered that the techniques used to extract hydrocarbons are essentially the same. What has changed are advances in technology over the last decade which have made shale gas development economically viable. 

¹ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49547/What_is_shale_gas.pdf 

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• What is fracking? Please send a lot of info

• What is snail gas 

• What is fracking? I don't know anything about it?.....

• What is fracking? Will it be cheap? Is it safe? Will nature be protected?

• What is fracking? And how does it affect me?

• What is fracking and is it safe? What is shale gas and what is it used for?

• I don't know what it is?

• What is it about?

• Sounded fun to start with then repeated the question and I don't what it is 

• What is it

• I have not got a clue what fracking is

• Don't know what it is

• What is shale gas. I don't understand the question. Please could you explain it in detail. Thank you.

• What is shale, I only know a little bit is it in place of coal mine, I'm ex-miner. I think coal was better, it kept men in work. Bring coal back.

• What is shale gas anyway?

• What is fracking? Havent been informed.

• I feel uninformed. What is fracking?

• What exactly is fracking? Why is the Green Party against it?

• Is it safe for the environment? What is fracking?

• To know what it is about.

• Explain why and how.

• What? When? Who? How? Where?

• Undecided. What about the basics? Who is involved?

There is a considerable amount of debate over UK shale gas resources (the total amount of shale gas that exists in the ground) and UK shale reserves – the total amount that can be technically or economically extracted.

In June 2013, the British Geological Survey produced a report for the Government where they said that the UK’s shale gas resources could be very large indeed - 1,300 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in the north of England alone and 80 trillion cubic feet in Scotland.¹

However, no one is sure exactly how large the UK’s total reserves of shale gas are, i.e. how much can be extracted in practice. This is why operators are carrying out exploration work to find out. 

Although there are different views on the size of reserves, those companies who have said they want to explore for shale gas are convinced it would be economically viable. It is widely agreed that shale gas production can help to reduce the UK’s dependence on imports, meaning that it will increase our energy security. John Williams, Senior Principal at Poyry (the global consulting and engineering firm) has said that “shale gas can reduce import dependency and therefore make the country less vulnerable to a supply disruption that may result from a market failure, infrastructure breakdown or other issue affecting imports of gas.”  This means that shale gas has the potential to greatly improve the UK’s energy security.²

Dr James Verdon of Bristol University said: “Geologists usually assume 10% of the stated shale reserve is extractable. If this is the case, and we are able to extract 10% of the BGS’s estimate of 1,300tcf, this places the Bowland shale up there among the top 10 largest gas fields in the world.”

¹ http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/energy/shaleGas/howMuch.html 
^{2 http://www.poyry.co.uk/sites/poyry.co.uk/files/public_report_ogp__v5_0.pdf}

It is too early to say which companies will be extracting shale gas in the UK. Prior to extraction, interested companies need to obtain licenses from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, apply for permits from the environmental regulator, be granted local council permission to explore, and then be granted local council permission to extract. This is a lengthy process. There are 176 licenses across the country, with many different companies owning them^[1]. At the moment, only Cuadrilla in Lancashire has applied for planning permission to explore using hydraulic fracturing.  

¹ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/360075/Landfields_Lics.pdf

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• Have you considered the impact this has had in America? Earthquakes etc. Is it an American company doing the fracking? Why?

• Is it safe? Does it pollute water? What benefits will there be when firms drilling are foreign?

• Where in nottinghamshire are you fracking or are you planning to frack? Are youfracking through private companies? What is the time scale of the project?

In Europe, France and Bulgaria are the only two countries to have banned hydraulic fracturing for shale gas.

The process is currently temporarily on hold in the Netherlands while it conducts further research. Germany has also put its plans for shale gas extraction through hydraulic fracturing on hold, although it can still take place below 3,000 metres.

In addition to the UK, the EU countries currently exploring for shale gas are Ireland, Denmark, Romania and Poland. Poland is thoroughly exploring its shale gas reserves, thought to be the largest in Europe.

Professor Joe Howe of the University of Chester said: “It is important that the government and local authorities take all views into account. However, it is also essential that the debate is conducted on the facts and not under undue pressure from ideological opponents.”

Professor Richard Selley of Imperial College London, reflecting on the situation in Germany, told us that: “To fill the energy gap Germany is importing gas from Russia and coal from the USA. It is reopening its surface brown coal mines. Burning coal is a far larger generator of carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere than burning gas. In the words of one press headline: ‘Germany has turned from green to black.’”

Natural gas from shale rock is the same as all natural gas. The only difference is that it is trapped in impermeable shale rock. Whilst burning shale gas to produce energy does cause CO2 emissions, a greenhouse gas, generating electricity from gas produces about half of the emissions of generating electricity from coal.¹ Greenhouse gases contribute to climate change.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 3 5th Assessment Report, published in April 2014 said that avoiding climate change will mean reducing coal use before reducing the use of gas. This is because generating electricity from gas produces about half of the emissions than generating electricity from coal. However, they concluded more research needs to be done on methane released into the atmosphere during shale gas extraction².

The UK’s Committee on Climate Change, which advises the Government on meeting the country’s carbon reduction targets, has concluded:

“UK shale gas production would reduce our dependence on imports and help to meet the UK’s continued gas demand, for example in industry and for heat in buildings, even as we reduce consumption by improving energy efficiency and switching to low-carbon technologies.”³

However, we also must consider the effects of shale gas escaping into the atmosphere when it is being extracted. Shale gas is mostly methane which is more harmful to the environment than CO2. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency “Pound for pound, the comparative impact of methane on climate change is over 20 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period.”⁴

Therefore, to ensure the effect on the environment is minimised, it is very important that as much of the gas extracted as possible is used and that as little methane as possible escapes into the atmosphere. The government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) insists that operators must minimise the release of gas into the atmosphere and, when gas can’t be economically used, it must be captured and “flared” to reduce its global warming emissions’.⁵ Beyond exploration, operators will have a commercial incentive not to flare gas, as the gas could otherwise be sold. 

Finally, the shale gas industry in the UK is developing “green completion” based on industry best practice, to reduce the emissions of gases into the air, and this is emphasised in UKOOG’s “UK Onshore Shale Gas Well Guidelines”⁶. This involves using specialist equipment to collect and separate the initial flow of water, sand and gas, so the gas can be prevented from escaping. According to Professor David MacKay, (DECC’s Chief Scientific Advisor), and Dr Timothy Stone (the Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State), “green completions” should be adopted at all stages following exploration.7 According to the Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change “Green completions and flaring can reduce methane emissions by as much as 95% versus venting straight into the atmosphere.”⁸

Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London said: “The Government’s energy policy is to solve the ‘Trilemma’ for providing energy that is economic, that does least damage to the environment, and whose source is secure. It supports hydraulic fracturing for shale gas as part of a balanced mix of diverse energy sources, including nuclear and renewables. All 3 major parties support this solution to the energy trilemma.”

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• Where is done and how does it affect our eco system

There is controversy surrounding fracking because there is lots of information out there and much of it is contradictory. This is the main reason we have launched this initiative – so that people can ask the questions they want to have answered rather than rely on misinformation that is put out into the public domain.

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• Why is there so much controversy about it? There must be some uncertainty about the risks.

• Rather ambivalent seeing as coal mining has been around for years - What is wrong with it?

• Why is it seen as bad?

• Why has everyone got a problem with it?

• Why when the majority of scientists advise it is safe are there still people refusing to accept the evidence?

• We lived through coal mining so why are people making such a fuss about this?
  
  
• Why are people opposing fracking when they never used to oppose coal mining?

No, but many people think that because Russia has a large amount of conventional energy resources, it will most likely not invest in shale gas exploration yet.¹

There have been a number of accusations that, because Russia sells a huge amount of gas to other countries, it is working to discourage those countries from developing their own gas reserves through hydraulic fracturing.

Speaking in June 2014, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) said that Vladimir Putin’s government was behind attempts to discredit fracking. He was reported as saying that: “I have met allies who can report that Russia, as part of their sophisticated information and disinformation operations, engaged actively with so-called non-governmental organisations - environmental organisations working against shale gas - to maintain European dependence on imported Russian gas.”

Russian shale oil resources are estimated at 75 billion barrels, which puts the country on top of the global standings according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), and it also has 285 trillion cubic feet of shale gas resources, which put it 9th in the world.²

¹ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223492/navigant_consulting_report.pdf

This is a very broad question, so we have explored the potential environmental, social and economic consequences to shale gas extraction.

The environment and CO2

Natural gas from shale rock is the same as all natural gas. The only difference is that it is trapped in impermeable shale rock. Whilst burning shale gas to produce energy does cause CO2 emissions, a greenhouse gas, generating electricity from gas produces about half of the emissions of generating electricity from coal.¹ Greenhouse gases contribute to climate change.

At present we get 40% of our electricity in this country from burning coal and we need to reduce this figure considerably in order to meet targets to reduce our impact on the environment. Although renewable sources of energy are, of course cleaner than fossil fuels, they are very expensive, so even green campaigners, such as Stephen Tindale, support shale gas extraction as a way of helping this country make the transition to renewable energy. We should also remember that we will need a reliable energy source at times when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 35th Assessment Report, published in April 2014, said that avoiding climate change will mean reducing coal use before reducing the use of gas. This is because generating electricity from gas produces about half of the emissions than generating electricity from coal. However, they concluded more research needs to be done on methane released into the atmosphere during shale gas extraction².

The UK’s Committee on Climate Change, which advises the Government on meeting the country’s carbon reduction targets, has concluded:

“UK shale gas production would reduce our dependence on imports and help to meet the UK’s continued gas demand, for example in industry and for heat in buildings, even as we reduce consumption by improving energy efficiency and switching to low-carbon technologies.”³

The environment and methane

However, we also must consider the effects of shale gas escaping into the atmosphere when it is being extracted. Shale gas is mostly methane which is more harmful to the environment than CO2. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency “Pound for pound, the comparative impact of methane on climate change is over 20 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period.”⁴

Therefore, to ensure the effect on the environment is minimised, it is very important that as much of the gas extracted as possible is used and that as little methane as possible escapes into the atmosphere. The government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) insists that operators must minimise the release of gas into the atmosphere and when gas can’t be economically used, it must be captured and “flared” to reduce its global warming emissions’.⁵ Beyond exploration, operators will have a commercial incentive not to flare gas, as the gas could otherwise be sold. 

Finally, the shale gas industry in the UK is developing “green completion” based on industry best practice, to reduce the emissions of gases into the air, and this is emphasised in UKOOG’s “UK Onshore Shale Gas Well Guidelines”^6. This involves using specialist equipment to collect and separate the initial flow of water, sand and gas, so the gas can be prevented from escaping. According to Professor David MacKay, (DECC’s Chief Scientific Advisor), and Dr Timothy Stone (the Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State), “green completions” should be adopted at all stages following exploration.⁷ According to the Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change “Green completions and flaring can reduce methane emissions by as much as 95% versus venting straight into the atmosphere.”⁸

Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London said: “The Government’s energy policy is to solve the ‘Trilemma’ for providing energy that is economic, that does least damage to the environment, and whose source is secure. It supports hydraulic fracturing for shale gas as part of a balanced mix of diverse energy sources, including nuclear and renewables. All 3 major parties support this solution to the energy trilemma.”

The economy

Many people believe that the primary advantage of producing natural gas from shale is that it means we will be less reliant on other countries for our energy and will create new jobs and industries.

Natural gas accounts for around 80% of the UK’s domestic and business heating needs⁹, with 83% of homes heated by this energy resource in 2013, so we must either import more or produce more of our own.¹⁰

Just 11 years ago (in 2003), the UK was actually a net exporter of gas. However, we are now importing more than we are exporting, which means we have to rely on other countries for our gas needs. The Department of Energy and Climate Change suggests that the UK will be importing nearly 70% of the gas we use by 2025, assuming we do not develop shale gas.¹¹ John Williams, Senior Principal at Pöyry, a global consulting and engineering firm, told us that because the UK will still have a demand for gas in the future, that if this gas is produced from shale then the requirements for imports will be reduced.  He said “this will have beneficial economic impacts in terms of balance of trade, job creation and increased GDP”.

With regards to investment and job creation, the Institute of Directors has produced calculations for a pad of 10 wells, each with four horizontal wells (laterals), which could heat a peak of 400,000 homes. In their model, the IoD assume that each lateral costs £6 million to drill, facility costs are £30 million and decommissioning costs are £40 million, with a total investment of just over £500 million – this includes operating expenditure, which is considerable, and the cost of getting the gas to market.¹²  According to EY, £333 million of capital investment is required to bring a well-pad of this scale into operation.¹³ This investment will be made by companies without subsidy from taxpayers.

In addition to generating energy, the oil and gas sector provides significant tax revenues to fund public services. A PwC report, commissioned by Oil and Gas UK in 2011, estimated that the oil and gas sector was the UK’s largest corporation tax payer, contributing 16.4% of total Government corporation tax receipts. If the tax paid by companies in the supply chain is included, the figure is even higher.

Community

Another benefit for communities, in addition to new jobs and industries, would be new revenues. The industry has committed to paying £100,000 to the local community living near to each exploratory well site where hydraulic fracturing takes place, together with a £20,000 community benefit payment per unique horizontal well over 200 metres in length and below 300 metres in depth. This will be paid by the operator, regardless of whether or not recoverable deposits are found. In addition, the industry has committed to paying communities 1% of the value of the shale gas that is produced – for a site of 40 horizontal wells, this could be worth £5-10 million in total. Finally, operators will pay business rates on their sites – 100% of which will go straight to the local authorities in the area.

With regards to the long-term, it is also important to note that each well pad is temporary. Once a site has finished producing natural gas or oil it is then decommissioned in order to return the site to its original condition. This involves removing all of the surface equipment and making sure that the wells are safely cemented and capped. Typically, this process takes around six months to a year.

¹ http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg3/

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• Have the government thought about the long term repercussions of fracking and other extreme methods of gas extraction not just the short term benefits?

• What are the long term dangers

• How long would it lost and what are the long term effects

• Can a definite statement be made on any long or short term affects of fracking? Needs more information and more actual facts.

• What are the long term implications of extracting gas using the fracking technique?

• What are the long term effects?

• What are the long term effects? Is it good the environment? We need more information to form an opinion.

• I don't know anything about it. what is the long term damage?
  
  
• I am worried about the water table and long term effects. how much is known about the future effects from fracking?
  
  
• I don't know anything about it. What is the long term damage?
  
  
• What is it? What are short and long term effects? 
  
  
• What are the other options? Who's telling the truth? There's been problems - don't know who to believe in. The people who are for fracking - is this a short term solution? 

The primary benefit to consumers of shale gas is having a more dependable source of energy that doesn’t require the UK to import as much of its energy from abroad. In addition, John Williams, Senior Principal at Pöyry, a global consulting and engineering firm, told us that “shale gas produced here in Great Britain could have other significant economic benefits in terms of job creation, tax revenue and improving the balance of trade.”

Another benefit could be lower prices. Pöyry (the global consulting and engineering firm specialising in the energy sector), carried out a study to see the effects that the production of natural gas from shale could have on energy prices in Europe, including the UK. They modelled three scenarios based on the amount of shale gas that might be produced in the UK and Europe. These scenarios were based on ‘no shale’, ‘some shale’, and ‘shale boom’. The model projected that wholesale prices could be lower by 6% in the ‘some shale’ scenario and 14% in the ‘shale boom’ scenario¹. However, they added that “most people now agree that Great Britain would not experience a price reduction similar to that which has been seen in the US over the past few years.”

It is important to note that the introduction of shale gas into the UK’s energy mix will mean that the country will not have to rely so much on imports of gas from Continental Europe, which may originate in Russia, or from expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG). As a result of this increased liquidity in the market, the price rises, which many commentators forecast, could be arrested, and this could potentially lead to lower prices in the future. It will also reduce our exposure to price volatility in international gas markets.

Another benefit would be to local communities.  The industry has committed to paying £100,000 to the local community living near to each exploratory well site where hydraulic fracturing takes place, together with a £20,000 community benefit payment per unique horizontal well over 200 metres in length and below 300 metres in depth. This will be paid by the operator, regardless of whether or not recoverable deposits are found. In addition, the industry has committed to paying communities 1% of the value of the shale gas that is produced – for a site of 40 horizontal wells, this could be worth £5-10 million in total. 

Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London said: “The benefits include: a secure source of gas, prices lower than they would have otherwise been, and lower carbon dioxide emissions than coal-power generating stations.”

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• What guarantees will consumers receive that the substantial financial benefits envisaged will be shared fairly with them and not chanelled directly to the businesses involved

• How will fracking make it chepaer for the UK customer as the gas is sold onto the open market? How safe is it?

• What are the benefits?

• Is shale gas obtained by "fracking" going to: A: Reduce pollutant emmissions, B: Reduce consumer costs; C: Obviate foreign imports of fuel; D: Make more profits for oil/gas industry

• How will the uk benefit from uk shale reserves when we pool our gas with the EU? 

We firmly believe that if the UK develops its own energy, it will mean we are less dependent on foreign sources. In National Grid’s 2014 Future Energy Scenarios report, one scenario said that up to 40% of the UK’s gas needs could be met by shale gas within the next two decades.¹

The Department of Energy and Climate Change says that the UK “cannot be complacent about energy dependence” and that producing energy from our own resources will reduce the risk of disruption to our imported supply. The Department of Energy and Climate Change also suggests that, without shale gas, the UK will be importing nearly 80% of the gas we use by 2025. This means that we will be dependent on imports from other countries to cook heat our homes.²

John Williams, Senior Principal at Pöyry, a global consulting and engineering firm, told us that if we can produce shale gas here in the UK then we can reduce the requirement for imports of gas thus increasing the security of our supply.

^₁ http://www2.nationalgrid.com/uk/industry-information/future-of-energy/future-energy-scenarios/

^₂ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270980/Developing_Onshore_Shale_Gas_and_Oil__Facts_about_Fracking_140113.pdf 

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• How much (as a percentage) of our gas currently comes from Rusia?

• Are we reliant on Russia for gas? I just read the ASA ruling against Breitling Energy saying that "previous political disputes involving Russia had had minimal consequences for the UK" &DECCs own publications say less than 2% of UK gas is from Russia

• How does it compare to  other energy sources in the sense of independence for the countrys energy supplies? Will we still need to rely in Russia or USA for gas and oil supplies if we frack england?

• How soon could the UK be self sufficient if it started producing shale gas?

• Will this reduce our reliance on Russian Gas? 

• Is shale gas obtained by "fracking" going to: A: Reduce pollutant emmissions, B: Reduce consumer costs; C: Obviate foreign imports of fuel; D: Make more profits for oil/gas industry

• Can you guarantee fuel independance without fractured shale?

• What do we do when putin turns off the taps? Where else can we get gas from that's affordable.

• Will it be cheaper than sourcing from Russia/abroad?
  
  
• The UK government argue fracking is good for energy self sufficiency. How can the govt 100% comfirm that this is the case? Can legislation confirm this when to keep my shale gas for UK purpose only could go again and operating free market?

No activity is 100% risk-free, but fracking for shale gas will be safe as long as the appropriate regulations are adhered to. Fortunately, in the UK, we have very stringent regulations, designed to ensure that the process of shale gas extraction is safe for the people working on sites and the communities who live nearby. Furthermore, the UK has one of the best health and safety records in the world and is seen as a world leader in the regulation of the petroleum industry.

Good on-site management and appropriate regulation of all aspects of the process – including exploratory drilling, gas capture, use and storage of hydraulic fracturing fluid, and post-operations decommissioning – are essential to minimise the risk to the environment and public health¹.

Public Health England has carried out an assessment of the currently available evidence which indicates that the potential risks to public health from exposure to the emissions associated with shale gas extraction will be low if the operations are properly run and regulated².

They also say that contamination of groundwater from the underground fracking process itself is unlikely. If it does occur, is most likely to be caused by leakage through the vertical borehole³. Therefore it is very important indeed that the Government works with industry to ensure that the risks of this happening are kept to the absolute minimum.

Another way of looking at this question relates to the health and safety of workers on site. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) plays an important role here as it “scrutinises the working practices adopted by operators to ensure operators manage and control safety risks, conforming to the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.⁴”

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below: 

• How safe is fracking?

• Has the technology been tried and tested at the depths they are planning to drill at? If not, what are the potential consequences of it going wrong? Is the gas and oil going to stay in the UK? If not why risk everything on unproven technology?
  
  
• Is fracking for shale gas truthfully safe?
  
  
• If shale is not 100% safe, why do it?
  
  
• Will it damage the planet? Is it really necessary?
  
  
• What is fracking and is it safe? What is shale gas and what is it used for?
  
  
• What is fracking? Will it be cheap? Is it safe? Will nature be protected?
  
  
• Have all the safety issues been sorted?
  
  
• How safe is it
  
  
• How will fracking make it chepaer for the UK customer as the gas is sold onto the open market? How safe is it?
  
  
• Is it safe enough not enough info
  
  
• Is it safe?
  
  
• How safe is shale gas?
  
  
• How safe is fracking in England compared to USA and Australia?
  
  
• How's it going to affect other similar industries? Is it really safe? And healthy?
  
  
• I've heard that it's dangerous. How true is this?
  
  
• What is fracking? Are you taking all precautions to keep it safe?
  
  
• Are your theories based on 'real' environmental experiments or laboratory experiments?
  
  
• Why are you continuing with fracking when quite clearly it is unsafe and will cause major pollution
  
  
• How safe is this process in all aspects?
  
  
• When fracking has been banned in so many countries and states - and deemed unsafe - how many it's any different here in the UK? How come so many local politicans can
  declare interest? This reeks of corruption - convince me this is safe.
  
  
• I am extremely concerned that my house won't be safe.

There are many regulations in place covering different aspects of the shale development process, which affect where it can take place. The main regulators are the Environment Agency, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Public Health England, and the Health and Safety Executive.

In addition to this, local planning controls must be satisfied before operations can begin. There are also 17 separate pieces of European legislation covering the process.

The UK Government has also published the UK Regulatory Roadmap and this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-roadmap-onshore-oil-and-gas-exploration-in-the-uk-regulation-and-best-practice

With regards to WHERE it should take place, the main issues are:

• Where shale gas reserves are located. The British Geological Survey has conducted this research. The Government is responsible for issuing licenses, to allow shale operators to acquire exploration rights in specific locations
• Environmental impact assessments advise shale operators and communities of what the local impacts may be. In July, the Government also reaffirmed its policy that drilling should not occur in national parks, except in “exceptional circumstances”. 
• Local authority planning permissions, that allow shale companies to explore, are based on public submissions and the views of Public Health England, the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency
• Further planning permissions are required for an operator to move from exploration to full-scale development
• The Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is also required to give final consent for drilling. DECC checks that the proposals make efficient use of the nationally-owned resource. DECC will also check that the environmental regulator and Health and Safety Executive have no objections to the proposed operations, before consent is given.

This answer was peer reviewed by Professor Philip Thomas of City University London and Professor Simon Pollard of Cranfield University.

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• Give 5 examples of the "gold standard" regulation in the UK and how it differs from America?

• In what instances according to UKOOG should fracking not occur eg: proximity to residents, national park status etc
  
  
• There is natural resources so why shouldn't use them. But where should we do it?
  
  
• I have heard at school that fracking could have bad consequences - Is that true? What will be done to prevent them?

Producing natural gas from shale has, until recently, not been very cost-efficient. However, in recent years, technology has improved greatly, meaning that it has now become a cost-efficient energy source.

For shale gas extraction to make sense, the price of natural gas on the wholesale market needs to be higher than the costs of extracting it. This means that, if shale gas extraction is less expensive than importing gas from abroad, the companies involved will go ahead with production. The price of other energy sources, such as coal, nuclear and renewables, will also have an impact, but most British homes are heated by natural gas, so a secure gas supply is very important.

Shale gas facilities will vary in size and cost, dependent on location, operator and geology. It is too early to say how cost-efficient extracting shale gas will be in the UK. It has been done on a large scale in the US, but every location is different with different rock formations, which affect the costs involved in extraction. Shale companies currently want to explore for UK shale gas, to test how difficult it is to extract the gas and work out how much it would cost to do this on a commercial scale.

The Institute of Directors has produced calculations for a pad of 10 wells, each with four horizontal wells (laterals), which could heat a peak of 400,000 homes. In their model, the IoD assume that each lateral costs £6 million to drill, facility costs are £30 million and decommissioning costs are £40 million, with a total investment of just over £500 million – this includes operating expenditure, which is significant, and the cost of getting the gas to market.¹ According to EY, £333 million of capital investment is required to bring a well-pad of this scale into operation.² This investment will be made by companies without subsidy from taxpayers. 

John Williams, Senior Principal at Pöyry, a global consulting and engineering firm told us that: “If the exploration process provides evidence of sufficient levels of gas which could be recovered at a reasonable cost and sold profitably, on the wholesale market then operators can move towards positive final investment decisions with greater certainty.” He added that “shale gas produced here in Great Britain could also have other significant economic benefits in terms of job creation, tax revenue and improving the balance of trade.”

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• How much does it cost  to extract the shale gas? How much gas will we get( proven) and how much do you have to invest  before? How much does the maintenance and  pollution etc. clean up will cost? 

• What is the cost per kw/h  of making shale gas available as an energy source compared to using renewable forms of energy?

• Is shale gas cost efficient and how much is in the UK and do British workers get the job of extracting it ?

• What is fracking? Will it be cheap? Is it safe? Will nature be protected?

• Cheaper than normal gas?

• Good for the economy but at what cost?

• When? How much?

• Is it going to work?

There are numerous energy sources in the UK. These range from fossil fuels like coal to renewable sources such as wind and solar power. However, each of these has its drawbacks. Using coal to generate electricity is relatively cheap but produces twice as much CO2 as burning natural gas. Using renewable sources of energy is clean but more expensive and less reliable, and renewables such as wind and solar are intermittent sources of electricity.

Natural gas, as is produced through fracking, is a fossil fuel but is much cleaner than coal. The Department of Energy and Climate Change says that UK shale gas would have a lower carbon footprint than the imported liquefied natural gas it would replace, and a carbon footprint around half as large as that of coal.¹ In addition, using coal to produce energy produces significantly more harmful particulates in the air than burning gas does.²

Most experts believe that the UK should have a mix of energy sources but should do more to reduce carbon emissions³. In 2013, renewables accounted for just over 5% of the UK’s overall energy – including heating, transport and electricity – so natural gas will still be needed for some time as the share of renewables grows4. 

Stephen Tindale, the former director of Greenpeace, said in May 2014 that climate campaigners should support fracking for shale gas. He says that the reason for this is that the use of shale gas would enable the UK to reduce the burning of coal.⁵

In a 2012 report, the energy analysts at international investment bank Citigroup questioned assumptions that gas and renewables will compete with each other. They said that the shale gas industry will actually be dependent on the broader use of wind and solar for its future. That’s because gas will be priced out of the conventional and coal-dominated market in the short term, but will then be required to fill in the gaps as wind and solar are used more widely, and coal generation is shut down.⁶

In the US, wind and solar have grown quickly, alongside the shale gas boom.  Over the last decade, for instance, wind generation has increased more than ten-fold.⁷

However, Professor Richard Selley of Imperial College London told us that it is also important to bear in mind that: “Renewable energy, solar, wind and batteries for hybrid cars, etc. all use rare earth minerals. 80% of the world’s supply comes from Northern Mongolia from two huge opencast mines that can be seen from space satellites. These minerals are mined, refined, and shipped all around the world. Some of the elements used in renewables, such as cadmium, are so toxic that when no longer used, have to be disposed of in a manner akin to nuclear waste disposal.”

Another alternative to sourcing our own gas, here in the UK, is to import gas from abroad. However, this means that we will become more reliant on energy from other countries than would otherwise be the case. This will harm our balance of trade and reduce the tax and new job benefits that a shale gas industry would bring.

In truth, there are positives and negatives to all of the potential alternatives. This is why most experts are of the view that the UK should adopt a model where we rely on a range of sources for energy. 

Professor Richard Selley told us that:  “The Government’s energy policy is to solve the ‘Trilemma’ for providing energy that is economic, that does least damage to the environment, and whose source is secure. It supports hydraulic fracturing for shale gas as part of a balanced mix of diverse energy sources, including nuclear and renewables. All 3 major parties support this solution to the energy trilemma.”

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• Is there really no other solution?

• Is there really no other alternative?

• Will it be any cheaper?

• I'm not bothered because what is the alternative?

• Are you doing it because its the easiest option? Is there any other alternative methods before you resort to fracking?

• Is fracking the future? Is this the only way forward?

• What other options are there? We need some source of energy.
  
  
• What are the other options? Who's telling the truth? There's been problems - don't know who to believe in. The people who are for fracking - is this a short term solution?

There are a lot of variables to consider, which makes it difficult to produce evidence of a definite reduction in prices.

Pöyry (the global consulting and engineering firm specialising in the energy sector), carried out a study to see the effects that the production of natural gas from shale could have on energy prices in Europe, including the UK. They modelled three scenarios based on the amount of shale gas that might be produced in the UK and Europe. These scenarios were based on ‘no shale’, ‘some shale’, and ‘shale boom’. The model projected that wholesale prices could be lower by 6% in the ‘some shale’ scenario and 14% in the ‘shale boom’ scenario¹. However, they added that “most people now agree that Great Britain would not experience a price reduction similar to that which has been seen in the US over the past few years.”

In a report produced for the Government by Navigant (a global consultancy with considerable knowledge of the energy sector), they said that gas prices could go down if there is a "significant expansion" of shale gas in Europe over the next couple of decades². Richard Bass, Director of the Energy Practice for Navigant, a global consulting company with expertise in the energy sector, told us that “the potential for prices to fall due to shale gas production will depend on the extent of shale gas production and this is highly uncertain at the current time.”

When comparing the UK’s shale potential to that of the US, a House of Lords inquiry concluded that ‘the impact on the UK’s fuel prices and wider economy would not be as dramatic as in the US because production costs would be higher’. The inquiry reported evidence that there may not be ‘a discernible effect on prices’ as the UK’s prices are largely set by its links to the European market.³ Richard Bass has supported this conclusion, but added that “shale gas in Europe could help to moderate prices and in that context gas prices could reduce somewhat as shale gas production rises.”

The introduction of shale gas into the UK’s energy mix will mean that the country will not have to rely so much on imports of gas from Continental Europe, which may originate in Russia, or from expensive Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) As a result of this increased liquidity in the market, the price rises, which many commentators forecast, could be arrested, and this could potentially lead to lower prices in the future.

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• Is there any evidence that this will lower prices?  Only David Cameron seems to say this si true, and all the economists that it will not. Who is right?

• Will it be cheaper?

• Will my energy bills rise?

• Will it be cheaper than what we pay for now or will the government keep the savings?

• Will it lower bills?

• If industry professionals are saying it won't bring down gas prices, only provides a short term solution and requires stadium volumes of water per well (not pad) (when we have low resources) (including when we have hosepipe bans). Why do we need it?

• Will there be a reduction in energy bills? Or shall we all be paying for this financially and environmentally?

• We need our own gas & oil to reduce our bills. Will they make it so.

• Will it reduce my utility bill?

• Delighted this is happening in Lincolnshire. Will prices be fixed?

• How can it be ensured that the lower prices will be passed on to the consumer?

• Will it reduce UK gas bills?

• Will it cause earthquakes, bear in mind we have already had som. What will they do with water used. Will we get cheaper fuel?

• Will this give me cheaper fuel?

• Will my gas bills be cheaper, now the shale gas has been taken from underneath us

• Is fracking going to happen in my area? Lincolnshire. How much research has been done given the negative impact seen in the USA? How are companies going to limit environmental damage to locations and communities? Will it impact house prices? Will it impact gas bills?
  
  
• Will it be any cheaper?
  
  
• Will it create cheaper gas prices?

This answer was kindly provided by Dr James Verdon, geophysicist at the Bristol University:

“The technology of hydraulic fracturing was developed in the 1940s. Approximately 200 conventional wells in the UK have been fracked. However, like all technologies, it has improved through time. Modern fracking uses more powerful pumps and higher fluid volumes than the original frack-jobs performed in 1940s Kansas.

“A second key technology, which has received less attention, is horizontal drilling. The ability to turn the drill horizontally to drill sideways through a shale formation is just as crucial to shale gas extraction as fracking. This horizontal drilling was developed in the late 1980s, and the Wytch Farm oil field underneath Poole Harbour (Dorset) was a pioneer in this technology.

“Geologists have known for a long time that many shale formations contain huge amounts of gas. However, shale is also impermeable: fluids and/or gas can’t easily flow through it. As a result, it was always thought that it would never be possible to get the gas out economically.  A recent House of Lords inquiry found that “There was no commercial interest in shale gas or oil because there was no technology to exploit it effectively.”¹  However, in the early 2000s a Texan pioneer, George Mitchell, began experimenting to combine horizontal drilling with fracking in the Barnett Shale formation, Texas. He proved that by combining these methods you could extract gas from shale rocks commercially. The shale gas revolution was borne, and is now spreading around the world. It has also been helped by the gradual decline of many conventional gas fields, reducing the supply and increasing price, encouraging people to look for alternative gas supplies.”

Your may also be interested to know that:

Other factors which have made shale gas viable include: increases in energy prices; the reduction of gas produced in the North Sea which has made the UK a net importer of gas; the need to reduce CO2 emissions since electricity produced from coal creates more harmful CO2 than electricity produced by gas, and the recent conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, which have led to further pressure for this country to develop its own cost-effective energy sources.

¹ http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201314/ldselect/ldeconaf/172/172.pdf

Shale gas is not a renewable source of energy. However, we agree that it is important to invest in renewable sources of energy. Investment in shale gas does not come at the expense of investment in renewable energy and it’s not a case of one or the other.

Most experts believe that the UK should have a mix of energy sources but should do more to reduce carbon emissions¹. In 2013, renewables accounted for just over 5% of the UK’s overall energy – including heating, transport and electricity – so natural gas will still be needed for some time as the share of renewables grows². 

Stephen Tindale, the former director of Greenpeace, said in May 2014 that climate campaigners should support fracking for shale gas. He says that the reason for this is that the use of shale gas would enable the UK to reduce the burning of coal.³

In a 2012 report, energy analysts at the international investment bank Citigroup questioned assumptions that gas and renewables will compete with each other. They said that the shale gas industry will actually be dependent on the broader use of wind and solar for its future. That’s because gas will be priced out of the conventional and coal-dominated market in the short term, but will then be required to fill in the gaps as wind and solar are used more widely, and coal generation is shut down.⁴

In the US, wind and solar have grown quickly, alongside the shale gas boom.  Over the last decade, for instance, wind generation has increased more than ten-fold.⁵

Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London said: “Renewable energy, solar, wind and batteries for hybrid cars, etc. all use rare earth minerals. 80% of the world’s supply comes from Northern Mongolia from two huge opencast mines that can be seen from space satellites. These minerals are mined, refined, and shipped all around the world. Some of the elements used in renewables, such as cadmium, are so toxic that when no longer used, have to be disposed of in a manner akin to nuclear waste disposal. Furthermore, 80% of the UK’s homes have access to gas for cooking and heating. To switch to using electricity from the renewable energy sources would necessitate reconfiguring the National Power Grid at crippling expense.”

The UK is linked to Ireland and Europe by gas interconnectors, with gas flowing both to and from this country.  But overall, the UK is a big net importer of gas – meaning that far more gas is imported than exported. The Department of Energy and Climate Change suggests that the UK will be importing nearly 70% of the gas we use by 2025, assuming we do not develop shale gas.¹

UK shale gas production would reduce this import dependency. The energy and engineering consultancy, Poyry, has predicted that the production of shale gas from the North West alone could reduce our gas import dependency by 21%². Given the large quantities of gas we use in this country, and our goal of moving away from coal we believe that any shale gas we potentially produce in the future will be used to meet the UK’s own needs first and foremost.

According to Professor Richard Selley of Imperial College London: “The gap between UK produced gas and imported gas has gradually widened since 2000. Centrica has recently signed a 2 year contract to import shale gas from the USA. This adversely affects the UK economy as declining UK gas production leads to declining tax revenue and has a negative effect on the trade balance. Increasing indigenous gas production will diminish the need to import gas, but it is highly unlikely that the UK will be an exporter of gas.”

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• Has the technology been tried and tested at the depths they are planning to drill at? If not, what are the potential consequences of it going wrong? Is the gas and oil going to stay in the UK? If not why risk everything on unproven technology?

• I've heard any gas you shale will all be sold out of this country so nothing in it for England except politicians

Of course, we agree that it is important to invest in renewable sources of energy. However, investment in shale gas does not necessarily come at the expense of investment in renewable energy and it’s not a case of one or the other.

Most experts believe that the UK should have a mix of energy sources but should do more to reduce carbon emissions¹. In 2013, renewables accounted for just over 5% of the UK’s overall energy – including heating, transport and electricity – so natural gas will still be needed for some time as the share of renewables grows². 

Stephen Tindale, the former director of Greenpeace, said in May 2014 that climate campaigners should support fracking for shale gas. He says that the reason for this is that the use of shale gas would enable the UK to reduce the burning of coal.³

In a 2012 report, the energy analysts at international investment bank Citigroup questioned assumptions that gas and renewables will compete with each other in electricity production. They said that the shale gas industry will actually be dependent on the broader use of wind and solar for its future. That’s because gas will be priced out of the conventional and coal-dominated market in the short term, but will then be required to fill in the gaps as wind and solar are used more widely, and coal generation is shut down.⁴

In the US, wind and solar have grown quickly, alongside the shale gas boom.  Over the last decade, for instance, wind generation has increased more than ten-fold.⁵  

However quickly we move to renewables for electricity generation, gas will be needed for heating.  Natural gas accounts for around 80% of the UK’s domestic and business heating needs⁶, with 83% of homes heated by this energy resource in 2013.⁷

Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London said: “You may also be interested to know that renewable energy, solar, wind and batteries for hybrid cars, etc. all use rare earth minerals. 80% of the world’s supply comes from Northern Mongolia from two huge opencast mines that can be seen from space satellites.[8] These minerals are mined, refined, and shipped all around the world. Some of the elements used in renewables, such as cadmium, are so toxic that when no longer used, have to be disposed of in a manner akin to nuclear waste disposal. Furthermore, 80% of the UK’s homes have access to gas for cooking and heating. To switch to using electricity from the renewable energy sources would necessitate reconfiguring the National Power Grid at crippling expense.”

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• "Why's the government investing massive public money into searching for fuels which, if burned, will further push Climate Change from Critical to Catastrophic? Why not invest in Renewables like Germany? - As most people in the UK say they want."

• Why are you doing it?

• Why fracking when the move across the county is to the development of "renewable" energy sources, not to the further use of fossil fuels, a move back into the past?

• Why don't we just use solar energy to power the country?

• Why is it better than solar or wind?

• What effect will this have now and the future? Is there not any alternatives i.e wind turbines.

• Shouldn't we be focusing on renewable energy instead? It's too dangerous.

• Shouldn't we be looking into renewable resources rather than using up finite fuels? Frack off

• Why the hell would risk contaminating the world when we could invest in green energy?

• Why ruin the earth? Use the sun.

• Why not research further and invest further in green alternatives first?

• It is happening in Lincolnshire? Will it happen without public approval? Why can't greener energy be used?

• America is an example of fracking gone wrong with taps igniting. Why can't we explore renewable energy sources?

• Why don't you get everyone to put solar panels on their roofs instead?

• What's wrong with nuclear energy? Why can't we use alternative sources?

• Is poison shale gas exhausted after a life span - and what is the life span at a particular site. Is shale gas preferred over cold fusion? And why?

In order to return a location to its former state, sites where fracking has taken place have to be properly decommissioned.

Simon Talbot, Managing Director of Ground Gas Solutions, says: “To ensure that a site is returned to its original condition, independent Post-Decommissioning Environmental Monitoring is carried out following restoration. The results of this survey are compared to the Baseline Monitoring Survey, which was carried out before site operations commenced, to demonstrate that no pollution is left at the site.”

The length of time it would take a site to be restored varies according to the geology of the area. However, the local council, who would decide if fracking is allowed to take place in a certain location, would require a suitable restoration plan as a condition of the planning permission¹.

The nature of the global market means that there is a great deal of investment in this country from abroad. It would not be legal for the UK to prevent a company investing here simply because it is French.

Whilst France has banned fracking, you may be interested to know the European countries currently exploring for shale gas are Ireland, Denmark, Romania and Poland. Poland is thoroughly exploring its shale gas reserves, thought to be the largest in Europe.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change says that the UK “cannot be complacent about energy dependence” and that producing energy from our own resources will reduce the risk of disruption to our imported supply. The Department of Energy and Climate Change also suggests that, without shale gas, the UK will be importing nearly 80% of the gas we use by 2025. This means that we will be dependent on imports from other countries to cook and heat our homes.¹

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• Are the French going to find the fracking? Need more info so we have a specialist from shale gas coming to visit us.

We would recommend that you contact the Green Party directly for an answer. Our understanding is that the Green Party is opposed to the use of fossil fuels (such as coal and gas) and nuclear power. Instead, it advocates that the UK should rely on sustainable sources of energy such as wind and solar power. For this reason the Green Party is opposed to hydraulic fracturing – or ‘fracking’ as it’s commonly known.

Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London said: “Renewable energy, solar, wind and batteries for hybrid cars, etc. all use rare earth minerals. 80% of the world’s supply comes from Northern Mongolia from two huge opencast mines that can be seen from space satellites. These minerals are mined, refined, and shipped all around the world. Some of the elements used in renewables, such as cadmium, are so toxic that when no longer used, have to be disposed of in a manner akin to nuclear waste disposal. Furthermore, 80% of the UK’s homes have access to gas for cooking and heating. To switch to using electricity from the renewable energy sources would necessitate reconfiguring the National Power Grid at crippling expense.”

This is a very broad question so it might be worth spending some time looking at a number of other answers we have sourced to give you the full picture. However, we will try to answer your question here.

Many people believe that the primary advantage of producing natural gas from shale is that it means we will be less reliant on other countries for our energy.

The other big advantage of shale gas is that it is considerably cleaner than coal. At present we get 40% of our electricity in this country from burning coal and we need to reduce this figure considerably in order to meet targets to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Although renewable sources of energy are, of course, cleaner than fossil fuels, they are very expensive so even green campaigners such as Stephen Tindale support shale gas extraction as a way of helping this country make the transition to renewable energy. We should also remember that we will need a reliable energy source at times when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.

Supporters of shale gas exploration also cite the number of jobs that would be created if shale gas extraction were allowed to take place on a large scale in the UK as well as the tax revenues that would be paid to the Government by shale gas operators.

However, people who do not support shale gas exploration point to a number of disadvantages. Many people worry about the possibility of water sources being contaminated. Although we do not think that is likely in the UK, given the fact that shale gas reserves are such a long way below aquifers, they point to examples in the US where this has happened, although these have not been common.

People also, understandably, want to see our countryside preserved and would prefer it if no development of any kind was allowed to take place. While we do understand this view up to a point, it is nevertheless the case we will need to make a trade-off between providing energy to cook and to heat our homes and preserving green spaces. The total size of a shale gas pad is about two football pitches and one should remember that the land can be restored after the gas has been extracted.

A further disadvantage of shale gas exploration, like for all development, is that it may mean more lorries on the roads. Once again, we do understand that this is something that can have a negative impact on communities. Therefore, we hope that local authorities take all the advantages and disadvantages into account before making their decision on whether to allow shale gas extraction to take place.

Joe Howe, Professor of sustainable development at the University of Chester said: “Given the advantages and disadvantages of shale extraction, it is important that local authorities make a proper assessment and consult with local communities before making their decision. In my view, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, but it is still important that people know the facts.” 

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• Where abouts is this going to be done, and how will this help

• Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

• We are not sufficiently informed about all pros/cons of the operations.

• More information about pros & cons needs to be made more public.

• What are the potential losses? What are the potential gains?

• Do the positives outweigh the negatives? E.g The end justifying the means.

• Is it good or bad? I think it's bad - convince me.

• Is it good for us in the long run?

• Are there any benefits at all from fracking at all?

• Does it really do as much harm as they say it does?

• What is the pros for the people of the area against their cons?

• What are the advantages, disadvantages, and dangers? Is it sustainable and how long will it take to come into production? How long could it last?

• How will fracking achieve anything positive? Surely it will increase our dependency on an unsustainable sector of our economy. It will damage communities, no?
  
  
• Is it going to cost me anything? In tax is this going to create jobs? How profitable is it going to be to the rich and the poor? How is it going to effect pollution? Why do we need it ? What is the benefit?

There is no set answer to this question as there can be quite a lot of variation according to, for example, the location of the proposed site and the planning application process.

The initial exploration process to determine whether gas can be extracted can take around two to four months but, before this, the company involved will have had to have been granted planning permission from the local council, which can itself take many months.

After the exploration phase, the results are assessed and further tests will often be carried out for four to six months. If these results prove that shale gas can be extracted safely and efficiently, the operator will apply for planning permission to move into production. This diagram, produced by the Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change, shows the stages and lengths of time of exploration and development.

Once the site has finished producing natural gas or oil it is then decommissioned in order to return the site to its original condition. This involves removing all of the surface equipment, making sure that the wells are safely cemented and capped, and restoring the site to its original condition. Typically, this process takes around six months to a year.

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• How long does the fracking process take?
  
  
• Where in nottinghamshire are you fracking or are you planning to frack? Are youfracking through private companies? What is the time scale of the project?
  
  
• How long does an "average" well site produce gas for? And how long does it take to restore the site to its original condition, assuming you can? How is the gas transported away from the site?

It is very difficult to say how long it will take for shale gas to be commercially viable. A lot depends on future exploration and the planning and regulatory process.

John Williams, Senior Principal at Pöyry, a global consulting and engineering firm, has said that shale gas developments take a number of years to move from the exploration phase to the production phase. There are a number of phases of development that involve complex geological and seismic surveys, environmental impact assessments, planning consents and environmental permitting.

He estimates that, given the current regulatory framework in Great Britain, it can take in excess of 5 years for a shale gas project to move from initial exploration to production.  Based on this, we do not expect to see commercial production of shale gas until 2019/20.  Whilst some shale gas may be produced before this, he expects it to be limited in quantity.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has said that the industry anticipate around 10 exploration wells (conventional or unconventional) may be drilled in 2015 or 2016 to test whether gas or oil can be produced. After this they expect the industry to move to a phased production stage, with significant production clearly several years away yet.

According to the Institute of Directors (IoD), the shale gas industry envisages a roll-out of 100 shale gas pads by 2030, each the size of two football pitches. In this scenario, shale gas could supply up around a third of the UK’s gas needs and gas import dependency could be reduced from 76% to 37% by this time.

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown 

• Once you've penetrated both the public outcry and environmental concerns layers will it take long to extract the money underneath? 

• How long will it take to get shale gas up and running on a significant scale?

• What are the advantages, disadvantages, and dangers? Is it sustainable and how long will it take to come into production? How long could it last?

• How much shale gas is available at the proposed drilling sites, what proportion of that can actually be extracted and used and how long is it expected that this form of energy will last?

Substantial shale gas production in the UK could help retain and develop energy intensive industries and provide feedstock to petrochemical plants. However, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee’s report on the economic impact of shale gas states that “If there is no prospect that the UK’s shale gas resource will be developed within a reasonable timescale, energy intensive industry is likely to move elsewhere.”¹

The House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee has also found that “in the US, the shale gas revolution has had a transformative impact on the manufacturing sector especially the energy intensive industries and in particular the chemicals industries.”²

Furthermore, Getting ready for UK shale gas, a report by Ernst & Young (EY), said shale gas could have a positive impact on a wide range of industries. It estimated that 64,500 jobs will be needed by the industry at peak, from energy engineers to manufacturers and office support.

There are many regulations in place covering different aspects of the shale development process, which affect where it can take place. These exist to ensure that no drilling takes place into unsuitable terrain.

The main regulators are the Environment Agency, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, local mineral planning authorities, and the Health and Safety Executive.

In addition to this, local planning controls must be satisfied before operations can begin. There are also 17 separate pieces of European legislation covering the process.

The Government’s Department for Communities and Local Government has set out the roles of the regulators:¹

1. Department of Energy and Climate Change – issues Petroleum Licences, gives consent to drill under the Licence once other permissions and approvals are in place, and has responsibility for assessing the risk of seismic activity, as well as granting consent to flaring or venting;
2. Minerals Planning Authorities – grant permission for the location of any wells and well pads, and impose conditions to ensure that the impact on the use of the land is acceptable;
3. Environment Agency – protect water resources (including groundwater aquifers), ensure appropriate treatment and disposal of mining waste, emissions to air, and suitable treatment and manage any naturally occurring radioactive materials; and
4. Health and Safety Executive - regulates the safety aspects of all phases of extraction, in particular responsibility for ensuring the appropriate design and construction of a well casing for any borehole.

The UK Government has also published the UK Regulatory roadmap and this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-roadmap-onshore-oil-and-gas-exploration-in-the-uk-regulation-and-best-practice

With regards to WHERE it should take place, the main issues are:

• Where shale gas reserves are located. The British Geological Survey has conducted this research. The Government is responsible for issuing licenses, to allow shale operators to acquire exploration rights in specific locations.
• Environmental impact assessments advise shale operators and communities of what the local impacts may be. The Government has also introduced new measures in July to prevent drilling in national parks, except in “exceptional circumstances.”
• Local authority planning permissions, to allow shale companies to explore, are based on public submissions and the views of Public Health England, the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency
• Further planning permissions are required for an operator to move from exploration to full-scale development
• The Government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is also required to give final consent for drilling. DECC checks that the proposals make efficient use of the nationally owned resource. DECC will also check that the Environmental regulator and Health and Safety Executive have no objections to the proposed operations, before consent is given.

The Government and the shale gas industry are ensuring that shale gas is extracted in the safest way possible. The way to do this is by ensuring that regulations are in place and that these regulations are adhered to by operators, with best practice followed at all stages.  

The main regulators are the Environment Agency, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, local mineral planning authority, and the Health and Safety Executive.

In addition to this, local planning controls must be satisfied before operations can begin. There are also 17 separate pieces of European legislation covering the process.

The Government’s Department for Communities and Local Government has set out the roles of the regulators:¹

a) Department of Energy and Climate Change – issues Petroleum Licences, gives consent to drill under the Licence once other permissions and approvals are in place, and has responsibility for assessing the risk of seismic activity, as well as granting consent to flaring or venting;

b) Minerals Planning Authorities – grant permission for the location of any wells and well pads, and impose conditions to ensure that the impact on the use of the land is acceptable;

c) Environment Agency – protect water resources (including groundwater aquifers), ensure appropriate treatment and disposal of mining waste, emissions to air, and suitable treatment and manage any naturally occurring radioactive materials; and

d) Health and Safety Executive - regulates the safety aspects of all phases of extraction, in particular responsibility for ensuring the appropriate design and construction of a well casing for any borehole.

The UK Government has also published the UK Regulatory roadmap and this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-roadmap-onshore-oil-and-gas-exploration-in-the-uk-regulation-and-best-practice

Following best practice at all stages will ensure that the gas is extracted in the safest way possible. This includes:

• All horizontal fracking wells drilled at least 600m below aquifers²
  
• Wells designed with three or more cylinders of steel casing cemented over the interval of the aquifer
• Good onsite management to prevent surface spills, including the use of an impermeable mat over the whole area of operation
• “Green completions” to minimise the escape of methane between processes
• Seismic monitoring and the “traffic light” system employed to pause operators if necessary
• Baseline monitoring to ensure all impacts are detected
• Decommissioning, to return each site to its original condition.

More information on all of these aspects of shale gas operations can be found across this website.

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• What is the safest way of fracking?

It is very difficult to say how much fossil fuel we have in this country which makes it hard to answer this question. For example, some people are of the view that North Sea oil reserves are depleting at a rapid rate and alternatives need to be explored.¹

With regard to natural gas from shale, Dr James Verdon, geophysicist at the Bristol University told us that:

“The British Geological Survey has said that there is approximately 1,300tcf (trillion cubic feet) of gas in the Bowland Shale and, if 10 percent of this was found to be technically and economically extracted, this would correspond to about 40 years of the UK’s current gas consumption. However, shale gas won’t be used to meet 100% of the UK’s gas needs all at once: there will still also be gas coming from the North Sea, and imports from Norway and Holland. It is more likely that shale gas will at most meet 50% of the UK’s gas needs. This means that the 40 years of total gas use will actually be spread out over 80 – 100 years. This means that shale gas could be contributing to our economy for a long time to come.”

Most experts believe that the UK should have a mix of energy sources but should do more to reduce carbon emissions². In 2013, renewables accounted for just over 5%% of the UK’s overall energy – including heating, transport and electricity – so natural gas will still be needed for some time as the share of renewables grows³. 

Another way to look at your question is to consider whether we can import enough fossil fuel from elsewhere to keep the country going. The answer to this is, yes, for the foreseeable future. For gas, which 80% of UK homes rely on for their heating, this would mean investing more in our physical gas pipleline network with Europe and more in gas storage, whilst forgoing the benefits of producing our own.

According to Professor Richard Selley of Imperial College London: “The gap between UK-produced gas and imported gas has gradually widened since 2000. Centrica has recently signed a 2-year contract to import shale gas from the USA. Our increasing reliance on imports adversely affects the UK economy as declining UK gas production leads to declining tax revenue and has a negative effect on the trade balance.”

The reason shale gas production is not progressing more quickly is that there is lot that needs to be approved and investigated at each proposed site.

The initial exploration process to determine whether gas can be extracted can take around two to four months but, before this, the company involved will have had to have been granted planning permission from the local council, have been granted environmental permits from the Environment Agency, have had their well designs approved by the Health and Safety Executive and an independent well examiner, and have had flaring and venting plans and hydraulic fracturing plans approved by the Department of Energy and Climate Change before a consent to drill is given, which can itself take many months.  

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• How soon can you get started? The UK needs to be energy independent!
• When are you going to start it?
• Why are you not doing it already? Get on with it.
• When? How much?
• When will it happen - the sooner the better! 
• When are you going to get on with it?
• When are you going to start?
• When are we going to get going and stop wasting money on wind turbines?
• Why don't we just get on with it like the USA?

Shale gas extraction will not make the ground hot. The process of extracting the gas, using water under high pressure, takes place thousands of feet underground so there is no chance the ground will heat up as a result. 

In addition, the natural gas extracted from the shale rock will only be burned to produce energy above the ground, in power stations, factories and gas appliances.

A very big question. All energy we use on the planet originates from the sun, as does all matter. Stars, like our sun, don’t last forever but, for all intents and purposes, the sun’s energy isn’t finite.

Fossil fuels are a result of this process of energy from the sun becoming matter, which takes millions of years. These fuels are finite because we are using them much faster than they are created.

Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are so attractive because they aren’t finite. However, to capture this energy requires us to build technologies which do use finite resources themselves. Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London told us that: “Many forms of renewable energy such as solar, wind and the batteries for hybrid cars etc. all use rare earth minerals. 80% of the World’s supply comes from northern Mongolia from two huge opencast mines that can be seen from space.¹ The minerals are mined, refined and shipped all around the world. This is not very ‘green’. Some of the elements used in renewables, such as cadmium, are so toxic that when no longer used, have to be disposed of in a manner akin to nuclear waste disposal.”

So, at the moment, our way of life is not possible without the use of some finite resources. We can mitigate this problem by being more efficient in our energy use.

We may be a small country but there are around 65 million of us and we all use energy. Fracking for natural gas from shale rock is a way to produce this energy.

Natural gas accounts for around 80% of the UK’s domestic and business heating needs¹, with 83% of homes heated by this energy resource in 2013.² According to Dr James Verdon, geophysicist at Bristol University:“The British Geological Survey has said that there is approximately 1,300tcf (trillion cubic feet) of gas in the Bowland Shale and, if 10 percent of this was found to be technically and economically extracted, this would correspond to about 40 years of the UK’s current gas consumption.”

Many people believe that the primary advantage of producing natural gas from shale is that it means we will be less reliant on other countries for our energy. Just 11 years ago (in 2003), the UK was actually a net exporter of gas. However, we are now importing more than we are exporting, which means we have to rely on other countries for our gas needs. The Department of Energy and Climate Change suggests that the UK will be importing nearly 70% of the gas we use by 2025, assuming we do not develop shale gas.³ John Williams, Senior Principal at Pöyry, a global consulting and engineering firm, told us that because the UK will still have a demand for gas in the future that if this gas is produced from shale then the requirements for imports will be reduced.  He said “this will have beneficial economic impacts in terms of balance of trade, job creation and increased GDP”.

The other big advantage of shale gas is that it is considerably cleaner than coal. Burning gas for energy produces about half as much CO2 as burning coal. At present we get 40% of our electricity in this country from burning coal and we need to reduce this figure considerably in order to meet targets to reduce our impact on the environment. Although renewable sources of energy are, of course cleaner than fossil fuels, they are currently expensive so even green campaigners such as Stephen Tindale support shale gas extraction as a way of helping this country make the transition to renewable energy. We should also remember that we will need a reliable energy source at times when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. According to DECC, as we use less coal in the next 10-15 years for electricity generation, gas will help fill the gap alongside renewable and nuclear electricity, which will help the UK reduce carbon emissions.⁴

Supporters of shale gas exploration also cite the number of jobs that would be created if shale gas extraction were allowed to take place on a large scale in the UK as well as the tax revenues that would be paid to the Government by shale gas operators.

It is also important to note that whilst the UK could be considered a small country, by land mass, shale gas development will require very little space. The Institute of Directors’ scenario is for 1,000 vertical wells, each with four horizontal sections (i.e. 4,000 horizontal wells), to be⁵ drilled from 100 above-ground well pads, each one around 2 hectares in size. Similarly, a study by Ricardo-AEA Technology found that anywhere between 580 and 12,500 wells could be drilled between 2015 and 2035 depending on shale resources – again, the number of above-ground well pads would be an order of magnitude lower.⁶

With regards to space on the land, it is only these above-ground vertical wells that will be visible, and only temporarily so. These vertical wells are drilled from what is known as the well pad, which take up about the same amount of space as two football fields. Whilst the well pad will remain for the period of production, the drilling rig can be dismantled once the gas is successfully flowing.

Once the site has finished producing natural gas or oil it is then decommissioned in order to return the site to its original condition. This involves removing all of the surface equipment and making sure that the wells are safely cemented and capped. Typically, this process takes around six months to a year.

This answer was provided by Dr James Verdon, geophysicist at the Bristol University:

“Shale gas is a fossil fuel, which means it is created from the bodies of creatures that died long ago and were buried at the bottom of the sea. Over time, heat and pressure turned the bodies of these organisms into oil and gas, which we are extracting today.

“This geological process takes a very long time (millions of years), so the supplies of oil and gas that we are extracting will take a very long time to be replenished. Because we are extracting them far faster than they are being created, shale gas, like all fossil fuels, is not considered to be a sustainable energy source – it will eventually run out.

“Most operators are currently at the exploration stage in the UK: they are not yet looking to produce commercial quantities of gas, they just want to confirm the amount of gas in the ground, and to work out if they can extract it economically. Francis Egan, the CEO of Cuadrilla suggested that it will take a minimum of 4 years to get from the exploration stage to production, and in reality it could be closer to a decade before we see substantial amounts of shale gas extraction in the UK.

“Current estimates for the amount of shale gas that can be extracted suggest we have approximately 100tcf (trillion cubic feet) of gas in the Bowland shale that can be economically extracted. This would correspond to about 40 years of the UK’s current gas consumption. However, shale gas won’t be used to meet 100% of the UK’s gas needs all at once: there will still also be gas coming from the North Sea, and imports from Norway and Holland. It is more likely that shale gas will at most meet 50% of the UK’s gas needs. This means that the 40 years of total gas use will actually be spread out over 80 – 100 years. This means that shale gas could be contributing to our economy for a long time to come.” 

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• What are the advantages, disadvantages, and dangers? Is it sustainable and how long will it take to come into production? How long could it last?

• How long would it lost and what are the long term effects

• What is the expected quanitity of gas, in relation to national energy needs and for how long?

• Is poison shale gas exhausted after a life span - and what is the life span at a particular site. Is shale gas preferred over cold fusion? And why?

France and Bulgaria are the only two EU countries to have banned hydraulic fracturing for shale gas.

The Netherlands and Austria have both carried out widespread hydraulic fracturing in the past, but the process is currently temporarily on hold in the Netherlands while it conducts further research. Germany has also put its plans for shale gas extraction through hydraulic fracturing on hold, although it can still take place below 3,000 metres.

In addition to the UK, the EU countries currently exploring for shale gas are Ireland, Denmark, Romania and Poland. Poland is thoroughly exploring its shale gas reserves, thought to be the largest in Europe.

Professor Joe Howe of the University of Chester said: “It is important that the government and local authorities take all views into account. However, it is also essential that the debate is conducted on the facts and not under undue pressure from ideological opponents.”

Professor Richard Selley of Imperial College London, reflecting on the situation in Germany, told us that: “To fill the energy gap Germany is importing gas from Russia and coal from the USA. It is reopening its surface brown coal mines. Burning coal is a far larger generator of carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere than burning gas. In the words of one press headline: ‘Germany has turned from green to black.’”

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• Which of the other EU countries are fracking and which have banned it and why?

• If it is safe to extract why have may European countries like France and Germany banned it?

• Why, when it has been banned in other countries, are we having this dangerous process imposed on us?

• I think if it has been banned in France. Why should we be thinking about it in the UK? This should never be allowed to happen.

• Why do France & Germany not allow fracking? Yet France invests to frack over here. What about contaminating pure Lancashire drinking water? Purest it's ever been.

• Why have France, Bulgaria and Germany banned fracking. In Pennsilvania it has got in the water system.

• Why have some countries banned fracking out right? For example France?
• Fossil fuels will run dry eventually at what cost to the environment? What is the reason why France and Germany for the moment banned fracking? And what is the government doing to promote renewable green energy? Ignorance of the risk is not proof of safety for fracking. And future generations? Thinka bout our grandchildren that can't vote.
  
  
• Why are the French saying no and we are saying yes. We do not want it here, its dangerous. When will you listen?
  
  
• Why is shale gas a problem in Pensilvania? If it's good why have France and Germany banned it?

Unfortunately, with current technology, renewable sources of energy are costly to develop and many of them – like wind and solar – depend on the weather. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the UK could meet its energy requirements solely with renewable energy – without a huge increase in our household energy bills.

Right now, renewables meet around 5% of the UK’s total energy needs (including electricity, heating and transport).¹  Natural gas, by contrast, accounts for around 80% of the UK’s domestic and business heating needs², with 83% of homes heated by this energy resource in 2013³

The Government has committed to preventing new unabated coal generating stations being built in the UK and has also taken measures to limit coal plant emissions of oxides of sulphur and nitrogen under the requirements of EU air quality Directives. The EU’s Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), will come into effect in January 2016. It tightens emissions limits on fossil fuel power station, particularly nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London said: “Many forms of renewable energy such as solar, wind and the batteries for hybrid cars etc. all use rare earth minerals. 80% of the World’s supply comes from northern Mongolia from two huge opencast mines that can be seen from space.⁴ The minerals are mined, refined and shipped all around the world. This is not very ‘green’. Some of the elements used in renewables, such as cadmium, are so toxic that when no longer used, have to be disposed of in a manner akin to nuclear waste disposal. It is also important to note that 80% of the UK’s homes have access to gas for cooking and heating. To switch to using electricity generated by renewable energy sources would necessitate reconfiguring the National Power Grid at massive expense.”

¹ DECC, DUKES 2014, Chapter 6 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/337684/chapter_6.pdf (“Progress has been made against the UK’s 15 per cent target introduced in the 2009 EU Renewable Directive. Using the methodology set out in the Directive, provisional calculations show that 5.2 per cent of energy consumption in 2013 came from renewable sources; this is up from 4.2 per cent in 2012.”)

Like most people, we think that the UK should use renewable energy where possible. But gas will still be needed for heating and to provide electricity when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. Domestic gas will also help protect us from global energy price and supply shocks.

The Government has committed to preventing new unabated coal generating stations being built in the UK and has also taken measures to limit coal plant emissions of oxides of sulphur and nitrogen under the requirements of EU air quality Directives. The EU’s Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), will come into effect in January 2016. It tightens emissions limits on fossil fuel power station, particularly nitrogen oxides (NOx).

According to DECC, as we use less coal in the next 10-15 years for electricity generation, gas will help fill the gap alongside renewables and nuclear, which will help the UK reduce carbon emissions.¹

Natural gas accounts for around 80% of the UK’s domestic and business heating needs², with 83% of homes heated by this energy resource in 2013.³

Just 11 years ago (in 2003), the UK was actually a net exporter of gas. However, we are now importing more than we are exporting, which means we have to rely on other countries for our gas needs. The Department of Energy and Climate Change suggests that the UK will be importing nearly 70% of the gas we use by 2025, assuming we do not develop shale gas.⁴ John Williams, Senior Principal at Pöyry, a global consulting and engineering firm, told us that because the UK will still have a demand for gas in the future that if this gas is produced from shale then the requirements for imports will be reduced.  He said “this will have beneficial economic impacts in terms of balance of trade, job creation and increased GDP”.

In addition to generating energy, the oil and gas sector provides significant tax revenues to fund public services. A PwC report, commissioned by Oil and Gas UK in 2011, estimated that the oil and gas sector was the UK’s largest corporation tax payer, contributing 16.4% of total Government corporation tax receipts. If the tax paid by companies in the supply chain is included, the figure is even higher.

Richard Bass, Director of the Energy Practice for Navigant, a global consulting company with expertise in the energy sector, added that: “Shale gas provides an opportunity to obtain more of our energy requirements from domestic sources, helping to reduce the growth of imported pipeline gas and LNG, thus providing a benefit to the UK’s trade balance. Additionally shale gas provides an additional opportunity to diversify our energy sources, enhancing security of energy supply.”

Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London said: “OFGem has recently issued repeated warnings that if there is a cold winter power cuts should be anticipated. Gas and electricity bills are rising dramatically. These rises are likely to continue as North Sea oil and gas production declines, and the UK imports more and more energy from overseas. Hydraulic fracturing to produce oil and gas should inhibit rising energy prices, but are unlikely to lead to a decline. Imported energy in the form of gas, oil and coal also makes us vulnerable to external political upheavals.”

³ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-housing-energy-fact-file-2013

⁴ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270980/Developing_Onshore_Shale_Gas_and_Oil__Facts_about_Fracking_140113.pdf

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Thank you to everyone who submitted questions similar to the one above. Questions we have received which are similar are shown below:

• Why is Britain even considering fracking when the government is paying £70 million over the last 3 years to get wind farms to shut down saying there is too much energy?

• why use shale?

• Why are you doing it?

• Why use eco damaging fuel when there are better options

• How can it be a better energy source?

• Is it necessary it will cost too much

• Why pursue fracking when we know it damages the planet and is potentially dangerous/why can we not invest in safer means?

• Why?

• Why do we need fracking?

• Why do we need shale gas?

• Will it damage the planet? Is it really necessary?

• France, Germany, Switzerland have banned as unhealthy to people and environments. USA research reveals aquifer poisoning, toxic contamination to rivers, air, and destruction of land for ever. Also infertility, still births. Uk had fracking eartquakes cause damage. Why is UK engagning in this destructive non-green activity? 
  
  
• If industry professionals are saying it won't bring down gas prices, only provides a short term solution and requires stadium volumes of water per well (not pad)(when we have low resources)(including when we have hosepipe bans). Why do we need it?
  
  
• Why? why would you do this? Why ruin my children's future? Think about the planet! I am so against this!
  
  
• No to fracking. why do we need it?
  
  
• Environmentally safe or not? Why do we need it?
  
  
• What are the other options? Who's telling the truth? There's been problems - don't know who to believe in. The people who are for fracking - is this a short term solution?

The UK has a legal commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. The Government’s position is that Britain will continue to need gas as part of a diverse energy mix, along with renewable sources.

DECC says that UK shale gas would have a lower carbon footprint than the imported liquefied natural gas it would replace, and a carbon footprint around half as large as that of coal.¹

Investment in shale gas does not necessarily come at the expense of investment in renewable energy and it’s not just a case of one or the other. Stephen Tindale, the former director of Greenpeace said in May 2014 that climate campaigners should support fracking for shale gas. He says that the reason for this is that the use of shale gas would enable the UK to reduce the burning of coal.²

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 3 5th Assessment Report, published in April 2014 said that avoiding climate change will mean reducing coal use before reducing the use of gas. This is because generating electricity from gas produces about half of the emissions than generating electricity from coal. However, they concluded more research needs to be done on methane released into the atmosphere during shale gas extraction³.

The UK’s Committee on Climate Change, which advises the Government on meeting the country’s carbon reduction targets, has concluded:

“UK shale gas production would reduce our dependence on imports and help to meet the UK’s continued gas demand, for example in industry and for heat in buildings, even as we reduce consumption by improving energy efficiency and switching to low-carbon technologies.”⁴

Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London said: “The Government’s energy policy is to solve the ‘Trilemma’ for providing energy that is economic, that does least damage to the environment, and whose source is secure. It supports hydraulic fracturing for shale gas as part of a balanced mix of diverse energy sources, including nuclear and renewables. All 3 major parties support this solution to the energy trilemma.”

¹ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270980/Developing_Onshore_Shale_Gas_and_Oil__Facts_about_Fracking_140113.pdf