INEOS offers to fund fracking test site to prove safety of energy process
The Manchester-born boss of chemicals giant INEOS has offered to develop a shale test site to show the technology to produce gas can be safe and secure in the UK.
Oldham-born Sir Jim Ratcliffe, INEOS founder and chairman, has written to the Government with the offer, promising to stop testing, and make good the site, if any problems are encountered.
INEOS has a range of possible sites across the North of England it says it can use to set up the trial of the controversial process, known as fracking.
Preston-based energy company Cuadrilla Resources has a fracking site at Preston New Road, near Blackpool, but was forced to cease operations in 2019 after sustained protests over tremors that occurred during the process.
The Government imposed a moratorium on fracking and ordered Cuadrilla to permanently cap the wells, but last month it was given until June 2023 to evaluate the productive options for its wells, which will now be temporarily plugged.
It follows concerns about soaring energy costs, driven by a sharp rise in wholesale gas prices, worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
There are calls for the UK to emulate the US and exploit its reserves of onshore gas through fracking, and reduce its dependence for energy on Russia and the Middle East.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe said: “The UK is in the midst of an energy crisis with ever increasing prices driving people into fuel poverty whilst giving huge sums of money to oppressive regimes.
“It’s a ridiculous situation with so much gas under our feet and we are today offering to drill a shale test site to show that a competent operator can be trusted to develop the technology safely.”
INEOS said it is proud to be part of the growing renewables revolution with many of its products providing key building blocks for the production of solar and wind energy as well as leading in the development of hydrogen as a fuel of the future.
But it argues renewable technology is not yet reliable enough to take over and the UK will need gas for the next 30 years as it goes through the energy transition.
Sir Jim said: “The UK is right to be re-examining its energy policy and to look again at the North Sea as part of the answer to our energy needs. But, as the US has shown, shale gas from home could make us self sufficient in 10 years and we need to re-examine this too.”
INEOS says fracking has been safely used in the oil and gas industry for more than 50 years. It says in the US, more than one million wells have been safely used and have transformed the energy security of the country
But it claims that in the UK, the science behind shale was ignored and politicians “bowed to an extreme vocal minority”, before imposing a moratorium on fracking. The chemicals giant said that, had that moratorium not happened, the UK could be using shale gas today
In making its offer to the Government, Sir Jim said: “We will happily invite government inspectors to monitor what we do and if, at any stage, the science shows there are problems we will stop and make good the site.
“But if, as we believe, the opposite is true, we would ask that the Government looks again at shale gas which would allow the UK to benefit from its own resources, massively reduce the cost of energy and ensure our long term energy independence.”
