The Welsh Government confirmed in December 2018 that it would not grant licences for fracking. The Scottish Government introduced a moratorium on unconventional oil and gas, including shale gas, in January 2015, and confirmed its decision in October 2019. The Authority concluded : “For future operations, the possibility of larger events could not be excluded and these could cause damage and disturbance unacceptable under the current policy guidance.” It made its decision based on an investigation by the Oil and Gas Authority following the suspension of fracking operations at the Preston New Road site near Blackpool. On 2 November 2019, the UK Government announced that it would “take a presumption against issuing any further Hydraulic Fracturing Consents” in England. There is currently a moratorium on fracking in England, Scotland and Wales. What is the current status of fracking in the UK? However, the review made clear the high levels of uncertainty around all these numbers and the fact that we have no estimates of ‘proven reserve’ estimates on which to base commercial development. Using future demand figures from National Grid, they calculated that could represent between 17 and 22 per cent of projected cumulative UK consumption over that period. The US EIA provided no estimate of the amount that might be both technically and economically recoverable.Ī review published in March 2020 by Warwick Business School of a range of ‘resource estimates’ and production forecasts produced by the industry organisation UK Onshore Oil and Gas calculated that UK fracking might produce between 90 and 330 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas between 20. The US Energy Information Administration estimated in 2013 that the UK had a total resource of 3.8 tcm of shale gas in Northern and Southern England, of which 0.7 tcm was unproved technically recoverable (which means it cannot be readily accessed, is not financially viable or its presence is assumed but not confirmed). Given the uncertainties, it is difficult to produce a reliable estimate of the shale gas resources that are technically and economically viable to extract in the UK.
A 2014 study estimated that the Midland Valley hosts 1.4–3.8 tcm.
However, it is unclear how much shale gas exists in the UK that would be technically and economically viable to extract.įour areas in the UK have been identified as potentially viable for the commercial extraction of shale gas: the Bowland-Hodder area in Northwest England, the Midland Valley in Scotland, the Weald Basin in Southern England, and the Wessex area in Southern England.Īccording to the British Geological Survey, initial estimates in 2013 suggested that the Bowland-Hodder area may have held between 23.3 and 64.6 trillion cubic metres (tcm), but a more recent analysis in 2019 suggested the figure is closer to 4.0 tcm. Production, mostly from the North Sea reserves, reached a peak in 2000 and declined significantly up to about 2013. Much interest and concern has been expressed about the potential for shale gas production in the UK, particularly because the country’s production of natural gas from conventional reserves no longer meets domestic demand (typically 70–80 billion cubic metres per year).
What are the potential reserves of shale gas in the UK?