A critical report into drilling for shale gas is due to be delivered in the coming weeks, and could check the progress of gas fueled power generation in Britain.
Shale gas has so far only been a game- changer in the US. And there is no indication that it has been detrimental to any fuel mix diversification efforts there.
The arrival of shale gas presents both opportunities and challenges for European governments and energy companies operating in the European Economic Area (EEA).
The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne is to cut the tax on shale production in the UK to 30 per cent, making the country the world’s most hospitable tax regime for shale gas.
Bryony Worthington, the UK’s shadow energy minister and a former campaigner for environmental group Friends of the Earth, has advocated the use of shale gas in Britain.
A new report from the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society has backed shale gas fracking in the UK, but adds that more regulation needs to accompany the activity.
Energy giant Chevron has suspended shale gas exploration in Romania following concerns over hydraulic fracturing – or ‘fracking’ – the process by which the gas is accessed.
