Thank you for contacting me about shale gas.
Shale gas exploration should only proceed as long as it is safe and environmentally responsible. Regulations now protect some of the country’s most beautiful areas, including National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, meaning shale gas exploration cannot take place at depths of less than 1,200 metres in these areas. I welcome a commitment to ban the drilling of wells at the surface of these areas or within Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
I am assured there will be no hydraulic fracturing in national parks. A shale gas site is typically about the size of a football pitch. Drilling only takes 4-8 weeks and once the wells are drilled the large equipment is taken away. Wells can also be returned to their pre-drilling state in as little as three years.
That said, I recognise there have been concerns about seismic events over the summer. Colleagues tell me that the Government is expecting a finalised scientific assessment of recent industry data from the Oil & Gas Authority shortly and will set out its future approach as soon it has considered the findings. I will be following the outcome of this closely.
Local communities must be fully involved in planning decisions and any planning application, whether decided by councils or government, will continue to require a full consultation with local people.
Last year 40 per cent of our electricity was provided by gas and over 85 per cent of the UK population use gas for heating and 60 per cent for cooking. We also need gas to make petrochemicals which are used in everyday items such as fertilisers, synthetic fibres, cosmetics and medicines. That said, I welcome the fact that renewable energy sources provided more electricity to UK homes and businesses than fossil fuels for the first time over the last quarter.
Every scenario proposed by the Committee on Climate Change to meet our legally binding carbon reduction commitments includes demand for natural gas. A mix of gas and renewables will enable the UK to meet our climate targets and the UK continues to invest billions in renewable energy through the Contracts for Difference programme.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Craig Whittaker MP
October 2019