Government seeks bids for fracking licences

BIDDING for licences to extract shale gas by fracking is beginning, the government has announced.

About half the UK is open to exploration, with sites in the North West with Flyde and the Salford, already ear-marked for exploration.

The coalition sees shale gas as a major potential energy source. Critics of fracking warn of environmental dangers though, and there have already been protests over testing in the region.

Launching the new on-shore licences business and energy minister Matthew Hancock said: “Unlocking shale gas in Britain has the potential to provide us with greater energy security, jobs and growth.

“We must act carefully, minimising risks, to explore how much of our large resource can be recovered to give the UK a new home-grown source of energy.”

He added that shale gas was a “key part” of the the government’s plans to tackle climate change and “bridge to a much greener future”.

The licences are likely to prove controversial, as there is a great deal of public opposition to fracking, which involves blasting water, chemicals and sand at high pressure into shale rock formations to release the gas held inside.

Business groups such as CBI and Institute of Directors though are supportive of the process, which while largely unproven in Europe has had a major impact on the US enconomy and led to much lower energy prices – critical for heavy indistrial users.  On the flip side, critics argue that it can lead to earth tremors, water contamination and disruption to rural communities.

The British Geological Survey estimates there may be 1,300 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in the north of England, of which perhaps 10% is recoverable, experts say.

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