Co-op calls for shale gas review

THE Co-operative Group is putting pressure on the Government to impose a moratorium on shale gas extraction until more is known about its impact on the environment.

Cuadrilla Resources, an energy company backed by former BP chief executive Lord Browne, has been carrying out exploratory drilling for shale gas at two sites near Blackpool.

The Staffordshire-based company believes Lancashire could potentially provide up to 10% of the UK’s gas supply. The gas was previously considered too expensive to retrieve but new technology has made it more viable.

But a report commissioned by the Co-op, carried out by Manchester University-based Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, suggests chemicals used in the extraction process at US sites are toxic or cause cancer.

It also highlights evidence from the US, where some residents of Pennsylvania can now set fire to their drinking water, which suggests shale gas extraction brings a risk of groundwater contamination.

Paul Monaghan, head of the organisation’s social goals, told the BBC: “There should be no fracturing of rock for shale gas until legislation can catch up.

“We are aghast that government accepted the assurances of industry on this while their own consultation had not even finished. There was a shale gas rush in the US and now they are looking into the implications – we need to do it the other way round.”

The Government said it is satisfied that Cuadrilla is “applying technical expertise and exercising the utmost care” as it takes its tests forward.