UK chemical industry supports new exploration sites for shale gas

As a major energy user and supplier of key building blocks for many customer industries, the UK chemical industry supports the development of unconventional gas, including shale, and welcomes Cuadrilla’s announcement to seek planning permission and approval to drill, hydraulically fracture and flow test a number of new wells in Lancashire.

Sources of domestically produced shale gas would provide the UK industry with a secure and potentially competitive feedstock (raw material) as well as energy itself at a time when supplies from the North Sea are in decline.

Steve Elliott, Chief Executive of the Chemical industries Association (CIA) said;

“The opportunity and need to move quickly in exploiting the UK’s shale reserves must of course be matched by reassurance over a number of significant social and environmental concerns/points. In our recent publication, “Shale Gas: The Facts”, we have sought to address many of these issues. The publication highlights, for example, that disturbance from fracking is not as significant as other natural seismic activity and is equivalent to the background motion caused by vehicles; the water use required for fracking per well is approximately the same as the amount used to water a golf course for a month and the creation of jobs in an important time for the economy. These are facts, not opinions, and we must do all we can through the responsible exploitation of shale gas to enable communities to trust in those facts and secure the benefits that result”.

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