UK Shale Gas – Future Sustainability?

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The UK’s Shale Gas is in the news on the occasion of a  recent report by the Energy Select Committee of MPs which has found no evidence that the hydraulic fracturing process involved in shale-gas extraction will affect underground water aquifers as long as the work is done correctly. The report goes on to say that onshore reserves are not likely to bring down the price of domestic gas.

This process, known as ‘fracking,’ is entering the general public’s vocabulary along with a rather dramatic (some say hysterical) debate about the dangers to the environment with alarming videos on U Tube from the US of escaping gas getting into the water supply and being ignited in domestic sinks.   This has led to calls for a moratorium gas extraction in this way by environmentalists and in a newly released report from Manchester University has said that the environmental impact of shale gas is lower than coal, but a much higher impact than nuclear, solar or wind power.

Cuadrilla Resources, the company that is bringing this technique to the UK, has said that their process of fracking is well tried and in any event is not the same as the technique that has been the cause of so much trouble in the US.  Consequently the process  is very much safer to the environment and therefore, no ban is necessary.  The energy select committee seems to agree with them.

To give you some of the background, the British Geological Survey has estimated that the UK’s onshore shale-gas resources in the UK , mainly in the North West, amounts to some 150 billion cubic metres.  This equates to about 1.5 years of total gas consumption in the UK and worth some £30bn at current prices.

The chairman of the Select Committee, Tim Yeo MP, has observed that the onshore reserves are only the tip of the iceberg and that offshore reserves could make the UK self-sufficient in gas at sometime in the future if exploited and this is very much supported by the Select Committee.

Given that shale gas extraction using a fracking process is widespread in the US with the Report estimating between 15% and 80% of the chemicals injected into the ground used getting to the surface as flowback along with potentially, leached out heavy metals and radioactive minerals getting into the water supply, is the new process going to be safe?  Cuadrilla Resources are going to extraordinary lengths to seal the site in Lancashire from the Sherwood aquifer below to ensure that the flowback does not leach into the supply.

I have listened to the debate both informed and uninformed on the radio and I have to say that the cynical view from the listeners that it will all go wrong just as in the US, has gained the ascendency.  Certainly, this is a “get out of jail” card for the UK energy industry and could take the primary focus off exploiting renewable and environmentally friendly energy sources to reverse global warming.

In my view, the reality is that this is a side show and low impact alternative energy, that does not rely on burning fossil fuels,   must be pursued with all vigour and this is where the UK government should maintain their focus.  The petrochemical industry will no doubt rise to the challenge of safely delivering shale gas using private funding.