New estimates of the amount of shale gas in northwest England have raised hopes that Britain could be sitting on an energy gold mine. Explorer IGas thinks there may be as much as 170 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in a 300 square mile area around Cheshire. IGas has admitted that only 15% of this may be recoverable. But it would still mean that projections by the British Geological Survey (BGS), which puts Britain’s total recoverable reserves at just over 5tcf, are far too conservative. Given that Britain consumes around 3tcf a year, it could also be a big contributor to Britain’s future energy independence.
What the commentators said
“Now that the [shale] opportunity turns out to be even greater than previously thought, it is all the more important that it is seized properly,” argues Mark Wallace on Conservative Home. The big problem is how to overcome local opposition to drilling. One way may be to ensure that more money goes back to the communities affected. Andrew Austin, the chief executive of IGas, suggests in The Daily Telegraph that local authorities should be able to keep all the extra business rates from fracking. This would help to draw a link between drilling and “more bobbies on the beat, more teachers in the local primary school”.
There are lots of myths about shale that also need to be dispensed with, says Allister Heath in City A.M. “The reality is that only a very small amount of land” is required for drilling, and the strain on water supplies is over-exaggerated too. The fact is that this is a great opportunity for towns in the north of England in particular, which should be embraced. “Aberdeen is a great case study of how shale could transform other parts of the UK.” In the 1960s, oil production could have been based in any one of several Scottish towns, but the local authorities “cleverly courted the sector with great success and transformed the opportunity and living standards of local residents”. The government should develop a greater sense of urgency about this potential revolution.