Those of you
of a certain age will doubtless remember the award winning American TV series The Beverly Hillbillies, about the poor ,backwoods, Clampett family transplanted to Beverly Hills, California, after
inadvertently striking oil on their land. Could shale gas be the next ‘Texas
Tea’?
Living as I do
in Blackpool, where shale gas exploration in Britain kicked off last year, listening
to the doom mongers I was fully expecting to be thrown out of bed to disappear –
house and all - into the bowels of the planet as massive ‘earthquakes’
generated by the shale gas extraction process rocked the North-West to its
foundations. The reality was, well, nothing, nada, nul point. I asked my wife
whether the earth had moved for her at all but not unsurprisingly received the same
response. I’m pretty sure she knew I was talking about Fracking.
For those of
you who have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s a quick recap. Unlike the fossil
fuel extraction we recognise from say the North Sea - where oil and gas is
trapped in underground reservoirs and pumped out via an oil/gas well.
Shale Gas
is actually embedded in rock strata and cannot be extracted in the usual
manner. It is necessary to pump fluid into the rock under high pressure which
then fractures the rock (hence Fracking) and liberates the gas. ‘Propant’ such
as sand or ceramic beads is used to hold the cracks in the rock open and the
fluid, combining water with additives, gels and acids is used to carry the gas back
to the well head.
And therein
lies the problem. Fracking activity gave rise to some minor tremors in
Blackpool that put a stop to exploration works whilst the Government researched
and considered the matter. There are also strong concerns about environmental contamination
from the ‘smart water’ used.
The real
issue is that shale gas underlies mainland Britain, rather than just being offshore,
and this brings the issue closer to people. The extent of potential shale gas reserves
is shown on the map below and this is naturally going to exercise most peoples’
minds, not just the NIMBY lobby.
The anti’
lobby kicked into action big-time, making the current grouses about wind farms,
energy from waste schemes and HS2 look like minor neighbour disputes. As ever
the truth – such as it is – is different from the perception. Much has been
made of experiences in the US, with contaminated domestic tap water bursting
into flames and even the risk of people glowing in the dark as Naturally
Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM’s) is brought to the surface. There are
several very emotive websites and YouTube video’s; some involving young
children who I doubt really know what they are objecting to. You see the vehemence
with which this latest ‘blot on the landscape’ is being challenged.
I’m not going
to defend or object to shale gas exploration, but here are some facts. The Fracking
process is periodic, so any tremors that might occur from time to time are not continuous.
Government research published in June 2012(1) noted that the tremors were
almost not recordable in extent and equivalent at worst to a lorry passing a
house, “unlikely to be felt by anyone”.
The amount of water used in the process is not deminimus but, “the amount needed to operate a hydraulically
fractured shale gas well for a decade may be equivalent to the amount needed to
water a golf course for a month.” Perhaps we need to start looking at sustainable water use provisions in other areas than shale gas? The additives amount to no more than
2% of the water used and most are recovered to the surface for subsequent treatment.
The wells are sunk at depths far below aquifers and the risk of any contamination
is more likely from surface activity.
But with all
the apparent angst there must surely be something to the objections. Various
European countries including Denmark and France have banned Fracking. The
problems appear to arise from lack of adequate control over the process in the
US resulting in natural concerns for the same problems arising here. This is particularly
directed to waste water treatment, which is far less rigorously controlled in
the US than here in the UK, and the commercial secrecy surrounding the smartwater recipe leading to inevitable conspiracy theories. The same treatment processes just would not be allowed in
this country. And therein lays the difference between the UK and other
countries – Regulation.
Oil and gas
belongs to the Crown who licence exploration and can apply a diverse range of
conditions. The licencing process is rigorous and requires the satisfaction of
numerous criteria as well as meeting high technical and financial hurdles. Licences
are issued in 10km blocks. There are three rounds of licencing involving 6
years for exploration, 5 years for development and then 20 years for production
on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis, with escalating annual charges to make sure that
licences are efficiently implemented.
The
Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 are relevant, which although they have
yet to fully catch up with shale gas exploration, are sufficient even now to provide
strong environmental controls. In addition there are controls exercised via the
Water Resources Act 1991 and Water Industry Act 1991.
The
requirements of the Petroleum Act 1998 and Mines (Working Facilities &
Support) Act 1966 apply. Here again they are playing catch-up but have a
bearing on works.
The town
planning system also applies, with the usual development controls and consultation
requirements, together with screening for EIA in combination with the raft of local
and national planning policy.
So, unlike
Jed Clampett, simply discovering shale gas reserves on your land is not going
to lead immediately to unlimited wealth. In fact the real value to landowners at
the moment is debatable. Because the gas is spread widely there are no specific 'sweet spot' locations for drilling and one farmers field may be just as useful as his
neighbour. As the landowner does not have a share in the reserves the income is
simply derived from letting the land. Not inconsequential perhaps, but by no
means involving a mansion in Beverly Hills any time soon.
The jury is
out on whether shale gas exploration and extraction is going to take off in this
country. The Blackpool ‘field’ is allegedly sufficient to provide the UK with
gas for some 56 years. The USA is now self-sufficient to the extent they have begun exporting gas from shale reserves. What Government could look that gift-horse in the mouth given
our emerging fuel deficit? After so long benefitting from largely 'out-of-sight and out-of-mind' North Sea reserves, the
last thing UK PLC wants to become is beholden to overseas suppliers who might
feel inclined to turn off the tap at some point in the future. However, the
level of Regulation and attendant cost in extracting the gas on mainland UK may well deter the
larger players who can go elsewhere in the world to do their business without
the same constraints.
I anticipate
a more considered, compromise, approach to shale gas exploration will emerge from Government
quite rapidly in both planning, environmental and licencing policy, in order to
address the concerns surrounding its development, but aimed at enabling future growth
in this potentially vital energy source. We are not in my view going to see a 'dash for gas', with wells popping up like daisy's in every back garden. And by the time we are all benefiting from home grown gas supplies feeding our ever increasing demand for cheap fuel, there will be something even more 'horrendous' for nay sayers to get their teeth into.
1. Report by
Royal Academy of Engineering and Royal Society – Shale gas extraction in the UK
For all your planning queries go to www.ruralurbanplanning.co.uk
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