Scotland and Wales still rely on large amounts of gas, but their governments don’t want to be reminded of that as it tarnishes their imaginary climate halos. Arguing that there are no worthwhile benefits to be had looks lame when gas shortages are currently forcing global prices ever higher. If there’s public resistance they will have to accept their energy bill pain for the foreseeable future.
– – –
Britain on Thursday formally lifted a moratorium on fracking for shale gas in England that has been in place since 2019, saying strengthening the country’s energy supply was an “absolute priority”, reports Reuters (via Climate Change Dispatch).
Energy prices have soared in Europe after Russia invaded Ukraine, and Britain is subsidizing bills for households and businesses at a predicted cost of more than 100 billion pounds ($113 billion).
New Prime Minister Liz Truss said earlier this month that fracking – extracting shale gas from rocks by breaking them up – would be allowed where it was supported by communities.
Business and Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said on Thursday all sources of energy needed to be explored to increase domestic production, “so it’s right that we’ve lifted the pause to realize any potential sources of domestic gas”.
Fracking, which has been opposed by environmental groups and some local communities, was banned after the industry regulator said it was not possible to predict the magnitude of earthquakes it might trigger.
Rees-Mogg, however, said the practice was “safe”, and the limits on seismic activity should be re-assessed so it could take place in an “effective and efficient way.”
Cuadrilla, 96% owned by Australia’s AJ Lucas, had the most advanced fracking wells in Britain and found a natural gas resource, but the rules around earth tremors meant its operations had to keep halting, meaning that neither of its two wells could be fully flow-tested.
The company welcomed the decision and said it was committed to returning a portion of any shale gas revenue to local communities.
“Lifting the moratorium will help the shale industry unlock UK onshore natural gas in quantities sufficient to meet the UK’s needs for decades to come,” Cuadrilla CEO Francis Egan said.
Chemicals and energy giant INEOS, which holds several British shale gas exploration licenses, said the government should treat shale gas development as “a national infrastructure priority.”
Experts say restarting the industry will do nothing to ease energy prices this winter, however, since it would take many years for an industry to develop, and it remains unclear whether a significant amount of gas could be extracted.
Full report here.
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Reblogged this on Utopia, you are standing in it!.
Renewables DO NOT deliver all the time, despite claims by the gullible cult believers. They need either massive (and very, very expensive) battery storage or variable generation from a backup. This can be hydro (with few suitable places) or ‘peaking’ gas turbines.
The latter are quite expensive to run, have maintenance issues (hence unreliable) and emit about the same CO2 as up-to-date coal fired plants. The latter are cheaper to run, more reliable and banned.
Don’t forget that our energy crisis was here before the Ukraine invasion and was entirely the fault of greenie élites in two decades of government policy.
Renewables today at Gridwatch, Wind this morning? – anyone ?, Solar -NONE, COAL 5% of a Larger demand than a week ago. and yet the dopes on TV /Radio Forums phone-ins just say “Add more” panels and WindNILLS. The Heron knows better – when there aint no fish, no use getting your pals in to share the harvest, is there? Even the Crows and the Pidgeons know better after a good harvest – fields are clear and empty – go look elsewhere. .. but NOT the Green Blob, hanging around barking like rabid dogs as you go about your business.
Reblogged this on Climate Collections.
‘where it was supported by communities’
Is this disclaimer the elephant in the room? British energy independence is up to ‘communities?’
“How many fools does it take to make up a community?” — apologies to Chamfort
So we extract gas from under UK. Its sold to someone. Do they pay the ‘world’ price? Or can it be sold to a UK ‘someone’ at a cost plus marginal profit– and much less than the going ‘world’ price? Is it uk gas? or drillers gas? Or the world gas? Nah we will be screwed again and still have to pay the ‘world’ price’ for our own gas. Just wait and see. Got the headlines to show how the Gov. care for us.
Sorry, Nick. The gas companies will charge what YOU will pay, balancing margins and volume. You’ll be screwing yourself.
Thanks Gamecock for :-
“Sorry, Nick. The gas companies will charge what YOU will pay, balancing margins and volume. You’ll be screwing yourself.”
Is it that we participate in a world market for gas and we pay for any gas we want at the market rate?
I wont ask more questions as that would waste your time and expose my ignorance of the why and workings of the world market in anything (everything?)
Thanks for your reply and I need to think more about it.
Old Nick.
please report more on the UK political, economic and energy situation.
I believe there is hope with your new PM. It would seem with as bad as the greenies have made it, any rational policy would succeed wildly, and whomever implemented them, heroes for life.
best of luck to all
slapped in the face with a big dose of reality. I’d love to see a massive mob do Bastille Day V2.0 on Parliament. “Hey Alf, get that guillotine into position mate!”
At the moment we’ve got a few gestures from the new crew in power. Without new power stations it can’t amount to much in terms of electricity supply.
The intermittency problem is going to bite before enough (or anything?) has been done to avoid it.
While Europe Banned Fracking, The U.S. Is Transforming It
– Oct 01, 2022
— The fracking boom in the U.S. allowed the country to tap into otherwise inaccessible oil and gas reserves, helping to make it the energy giant that it is today.
— While the environmental downsides associated with fracking have led some European countries to ban the practice, the U.S. fracking industry is working to transform itself.
— From following strict ESG regulations to using fracking technology to assist in carbon capture and storage, hydraulic fracturing still has a future in the U.S.
. . .
Fracking has ultimately helped the U.S. to become an oil and gas giant over the last 70 years. And although environmental concerns have hindered fracking operations, new technological developments and best practices are transforming the extraction method in the U.S.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/While-Europe-Banned-Fracking-The-US-Is-Transforming-It.html