Will the UK’s Temporary Ban on Natural Gas Fracking Impact U.S. Policy?

SEATTLE (Oil Monster):  The United Kingdom’s conservative government has issued a temporary ban on shale gas production, forcing the rest of the world to take notice. While the UK’s leaders have supported such development, its energy department now has reservations because it worries that “fracking” may lead to tremors. 

In the United States, natural gas has become the path of least resistance because it is plentiful and cheap. To that end, it is replacing coal for electric generation and helping to reduce the country’s carbon emissions. It is also being used as a feedstock for the manufacturing and chemical industries. 

Overseas, though, it has not gotten as friendly a welcome. Most progressive Democrats running for president of the United States have similar concerns. Moderate Democrats, in contrast, see natural gas as a bridge fuel until the point where green energies can supply much of the nation’s electricity needs. As such, they favor reasonable controls on drilling — things like requiring companies to disclose what chemicals they are pumping into the earth. 

And all this stands in sharp contrast to the polices of the Trump administration, which is to tear down nearly all regulations and to open up more public lands to development. In all, the Potential Gas Committee says that there are 3,374 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of technically recoverable natural gas resources. 

Fracking is formally known as hydraulic fracturing. And it is the technique used to break the shale oil and natural gas from rocks deep below the earth’s surface. To do so, chemicals, sand and water are used. And critics are complaining that it has the potential to foul drinking water supplies while also increasing carbon emissions. 

As for the UK, energy ministers have based their decision on a report by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), which said that the experts can’t predict the probability or magnitude of earthquakes linked to fracking operations. The government has long been supportive of the industry, although it has made clear from the get-go that development could only go forth if the science shows that fracking is safe. And given recent “disturbances,” the government has announced a moratorium on fracking until the data suggested any differently.

“Whilst acknowledging the huge potential of UK shale gas to provide a bridge to a zero carbon future, I’ve also always been clear that shale gas exploration must be carried out safely,” says Business and Energy Secretary Andrea Leadsom.  

“In the UK, we have been led by the best available scientific evidence, and closely regulated by the Oil and Gas Authority, one of the best regulators in the world,” she adds. “After reviewing the OGA’s report … it is clear that we cannot rule out future unacceptable impacts on the local community. For this reason, I have concluded that we should put a moratorium on fracking in England …”

Courtesy: www.forbes.com