Over 60 percent of Britain’s countryside could be exploited for shale gas as ministers prepare to lift a ban on the controversial extraction method known as fracking, the Independent newspaper reported Saturday.
Energy Secretary Ed Davey will soon end the suspension of the process put in place after fracking caused two small earthquakes near Blackpool, Lancashire, in 2011, the paper said.
Davey’s decision “will pave the way for a significant increase in shale gas exploration,” the paper added.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is also expected to announce the creation of a new Office for Shale Gas to speed up production as part of his Autumn Statement on December 5.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the drilling of underground shale rock formations by injecting chemicals and water to release trapped natural gas.
Opponents say it causes water pollution but energy groups say it provides access to considerable new gas reserves and could drive down prices.
Maps drawn up by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and seen by The Independent show the extent of potential development, the paper said.
The maps suggest more than 32,000 square miles — or 64 per cent of the countryside — could potentially be exploited for shale gas and is being considered for exploration licences.
It includes large areas of southern, north-west and north-east England and the central belt in Scotland, the paper added.
The British energy firm Cuadrilla Resources halted drilling trials on Lancashire’s Fylde coast after saying they were the likely cause of a 2.3-magnitude tremor in April 2011 and a 1.5-magnitude tremor in May.
Government to lift ban on shale gas exploration: report
