The UK Government (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) has provided guidance on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking (13 January 2017).
This technique was already used in the UK in the late 1970s for North Sea offshore projects but recent interest has focused on onshore applications. It involves fracturing rock by applying liquid at high pressure into a wellbore, creating cracks that help natural gas and petroleum to flow more freely.
As background to UK gas demand - and the potential benefits of onshore fracking - consider the UK's sources if energy in 2015.
One third of supply came from natural gas, one third from oil and the rest from other sources (coal, nuclear and renewables). Natural gas is imported via pipelines and ships (from Qatar, Algeria, Nigeria and Trinidad and Tobago).
The prediction is that most of the UK's natural gas will have to be imported come 2030. Fracking could therefore provide a valuable source of domestic supply. The British Geologic Survey estimates 1300 t.c.f. of gas in shale formations in Northern England.
The Royal Society also has published guidance on fracking.
Commercially, Cuadrilla has been involved in attempts to start fracking in the UK. They are partly funded by Riverstone Holdings LLC, founded by former staffers in Goldman's Energy and Power Group.
This technique was already used in the UK in the late 1970s for North Sea offshore projects but recent interest has focused on onshore applications. It involves fracturing rock by applying liquid at high pressure into a wellbore, creating cracks that help natural gas and petroleum to flow more freely.
As background to UK gas demand - and the potential benefits of onshore fracking - consider the UK's sources if energy in 2015.
One third of supply came from natural gas, one third from oil and the rest from other sources (coal, nuclear and renewables). Natural gas is imported via pipelines and ships (from Qatar, Algeria, Nigeria and Trinidad and Tobago).
The prediction is that most of the UK's natural gas will have to be imported come 2030. Fracking could therefore provide a valuable source of domestic supply. The British Geologic Survey estimates 1300 t.c.f. of gas in shale formations in Northern England.
The Royal Society also has published guidance on fracking.
Commercially, Cuadrilla has been involved in attempts to start fracking in the UK. They are partly funded by Riverstone Holdings LLC, founded by former staffers in Goldman's Energy and Power Group.
