Scotland began a consultation on whether to allow unconventional oil and gas extraction such as fracking, its government said on Jan. 31, with a vote expected at the end of 2017.
Substantial amounts of shale gas are estimated to be trapped in underground rocks, and the British government wants to exploit it to help offset declining North Sea oil and gas output.
However, hydraulic fracturing, which involves extracting gas obtained from rocks fractured at high pressure, has faced opposition from environmentalists and local campaigners and was banned in Scotland in January 2015 while the government there gathered information on its potential impacts.
"The Scottish government has a very important decision to make in determining the future of unconventional oil and gas," Paul Wheelhouse, Scotland's minister for business, innovation and energy, said in the consultation document.
"The consultation does not set out or advocate a preferred Scottish government position or policy. Instead, we want to create space for dialogue and allow different perspectives to come forward," he said.
The consultation is open to members of the public as well as industry.
Resources in central Scotland are estimated to hold at least 49.4 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of shale gas, the consultation said, with about 2% of this likely to be commercially viable for production.
Annual gas consumption in Scotland is about 150 Bcf per year, with about 78% of homes using gas as their primary heating fuel, the consultation said.
Recommended Reading
Wayangankar: Golden Era for US Natural Gas Storage – Version 2.0
2024-04-19 - While the current resurgence in gas storage is reminiscent of the 2000s —an era that saw ~400 Bcf of storage capacity additions — the market drivers providing the tailwinds today are drastically different from that cycle.
Biden Administration Criticized for Limits to Arctic Oil, Gas Drilling
2024-04-19 - The Bureau of Land Management is limiting new oil and gas leasing in the Arctic and also shut down a road proposal for industrial mining purposes.
SLB’s ChampionX Acquisition Key to Production Recovery Market
2024-04-19 - During a quarterly earnings call, SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch highlighted the production recovery market as a key part of the company’s growth strategy.
PHX Minerals’ Borrowing Base Reaffirmed
2024-04-19 - PHX Minerals said the company’s credit facility was extended through Sept. 1, 2028.
Exclusive: The Politics, Realities and Benefits of Natural Gas
2024-04-19 - Replacing just 5% of coal-fired power plants with U.S. LNG — even at average methane and greenhouse-gas emissions intensity — could reduce energy sector emissions by 30% globally, says Chris Treanor, PAGE Coalition executive director.