Warning over UK shale gas projects

Co-op report comes as mining company Cuadrillo Resources prepares to begin more drilling at a find near Blackpool, Lancashire, which it says is the first true shale gas find in Europe

Terry Macalister
guardian.co.uk, Monday 17 January 2011 10.18 GMT
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Ministers are being urged to halt controversial projects to drill for shale gas over fears that it poses significant risks to public health and the environment.

A new report prepared for the Co-op warns that the full impact of drilling for shale gas — an energy resource that has sparked a frenzy of exploration in the US — should be assessed before the go-ahead is given projects in the UK.

The warning comes as mining company Cuadrillo Resources prepares to begin more drilling at a find near Blackpool, Lancashire, which it says is the first true shale gas find in Europe.

Cuadrilla Resources, which includes former BP chief and Whitehall non-executive director Lord Browne on its board, said preliminary drilling confirmed and "possibly exceeded" its expectations.

Cuadrilla is planning more extensive drilling later this month which could involve a controversial technique needed in shale gas extraction called "fracking" - when the rock is fractured using chemicals.

The demand to halt shale gas drilling comes amid rising concerns about the chemicals used in fracking causing ground water contamination and which has led to a temporary ban imposed in New York state.A new film, GasLands, which includes clips of homeowners turning on their taps and igniting gas in areas where shale reserves are being extracted, has heightened campaigners' concerns.

"We are calling for a moratorium on any further exploitation of shale gas which will allow the wider environmental concerns to be fully exposed and addressed," said Neville Richardson, chief executive of The Co-operative Financial Services.

Kevin Anderson, professor of energy and climate change at the Tyndall Centre at Manchester University who wrote the report, believes the shale gas should be left in the ground. "In an energy hungry world any new fossil fuel resource will only lead to additional carbon emissions. In the case of shale gas there is also a significant risk its use will delay the introduction of renewable energy alternatives."

The reserves have only become available because of breakthroughs in both drilling techniques and chemical products but it has transformed the energy market in America and sent the price of natural gas plunging downwards.

Britain and the rest of Europe have much higher gas prices currently and a link with oil prices have sent them to very high levels. Oil has been closing in on $100 per barrel in recent weeks, two and a half times higher than the price seen two years ago.

But the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change appears unlikely to introduce a moratorium, at least in the near term. It has told the Co-op that it is aware of reports from US of environmental and health issues linked to some shale gas projects but regards the risks as slim.

"We understand that these are only in a few cases and that, when carried out correctly, shale gas exploration and development does not pose a threat to aquifers or local communities," DECC said in a letter.

It added: "Cuadrilla, currently operating near Blackpool, has made it clear that there is no likelihood of environmental damage resulting from its shale gas project, and that it is applying technical expertise and exercising the utmost care as it takes drilling and testing forward."