Explorers, Opponents React to Irish Fracking Investigation
With 13 new licences granted to offshore oil and gas exploration projects off the west coast of Ireland, the debate about fracking in the country may once again come into play. Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, has yet to take place in Ireland, though it is very likely that the method will be used in Ireland in the near future.
Parties on all sides of the debate have welcomed a decision from the Irish government to investigate the environmental impact of fracking. Responding to objections about the safety of fracking on the 5th of October this year, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte said that a full investigation into its effects would be carried out before any fracking took place.
Minister Rabbitte said that, after consideration of the matter, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would conduct the investigation into the environmental impact of the process.
“Several Senators and TDs have raised with me whether there is cause for concern about the potential environmental and health considerations related to this activity,” Mr. Rabbitte told ministers in the Seanad (the upper house of the Irish parliament). “We need to have debate on this subject who is well informed on many dimensions including the scale of valuable resource reserves that may lie under Irish soil as well as the various impacts of extraction. At present there is currently very little European experience of the process. For this reason I have asked the EPA to examine the area and advise me and colleagues in Government on the environmental implications of fracking.”
The minister stressed that there was no immediate cause for concern in relation to fracking, as currently no licences have been granted for onshore fracking.
CEO of Tamboran Resources Richard Moorman welcomed the announcement of the investigation.
“As a company endeavouring to explore for natural gas within Ireland, we are very pleased that Minister Rabbitte has requested that the EPA conduct a thorough study of the environmental implications of hydraulic fracturing,” he told Natural Gas Europe. “As the Minister stated, there is no immediate cause for concern, as the regulatory agencies within Ireland have complete control over all potential energy operations within Ireland. We would add that Tamboran Resources is over a year away from requesting planning permission for its preliminary exploration efforts.
“Given that more than 15,000 wells will be drilled and hydraulically fractured for natural gas in 2011 in over 15 countries and 20 states in the USA, we are confident that the EPA will be able to access significant and highly detailed information from many regulatory agencies to assist in their study of the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing.”
“The EPA and the other essential national regulatory authorities in Ireland are more than capable of determining, establishing and enforcing the critical environmental, health, and safety standards necessary to ensure safe and responsible exploration for natural gas within Ireland.”
Environmental trust An Taisce also welcomed the announcement, having previously raised concerns about the impact of fracking on the environment and the lack of legislation surrounding the process. Earlier this year, An Taisce called on the government to investigate the matter fully, and to ban the process if it could not be shown to be safe.
“We should follow the State of New York and ensure that no licences for fracking (exploration or exploitation) are issued until the state adequately examines all the risks and ensures that appropriate, enforceable safeguards are in place,” it said.
Spokesperson and Chair for An Taisce Charles Stanley-Smith said that while the charity appreciated the Minister’s efforts, it would also ask him to make the findings public.
“We compliment Minister Rabbitte on his initiative on asking the EPA for their advice on the environmental impacts of fracking,” Mr. Stanley-Smith said. “We call upon the minister to make this advice publically available to allow the people participate properly in the decision making process.
“An Taisce is very aware of the potential jobs that ‘fracking’ could provide, so we are also calling for a full ‘Life Cycle Analysis’ to be undertaken on frackingto see if it will really bring benefits to the People of Ireland and at what risk?”
Though the charity praised the announcement, Mr. Stanley-Smith urged the Minister again to ban fracking until the environmental results were known.
“We realise that currently no company is licensed to undertake fracking in Ireland,” he said, “and reiterate our call for a moratorium on fracking and we call upon the Minister to convince the people of Ireland that fracking can be undertaken without environmental damage before any company is licensed to undertake fracking, even on an exploratory basis.”
Environmental protesters have cautiously received the move, saying it is a step in the right direction. Johnny Gogan, a filmmaker, prominent protester and a former Green Party candidate, said that the decision vindicated the protesters. Though he was pleased that the investigation would take place, he withheld praise for the Minister or for the EPA, saying that the decision was a “shift” in Minister Rabbitte’s thinking.
“This shift has come about because a concerned citizens’ movement raised in the region has informed itself on the dangers of Hydraulic Fracturing using available independent research, has raised awareness in the community, and created enough concern among elected representatives at national and European level to focus the mind of the Minister. The campaign continues to research and inform itself and to bring that evidence to bear in a more affirmative regulatory action to ban the introduction of Hydraulic Fracturing into Ireland.”
Mr. Gogan called for greater legislation from the government to ensure that, whatever the results of the environmental impact assessment, oil and gas industries would be greater regulated in the country.
“The implicit reliance on self-regulation is out-dated in a country that has seen the disastrous effects of self-regulation in other sectors of the economy and indeed in the oil and gas industry elsewhere.
"The campaign to stop the introduction of hydraulic fracturing will continue to focus on this lack of regulatory preparedness as well as the risks to public health and those existing jobs in the economy—in tourism, agriculture and medical/food sectors—which depend on clean water."
Minister Rabbitte has promised that he will consult with a variety of parties to ensure that a fair and rigorous assessment of the process is achieved. With such divergent focuses on him, the Irish energy market, and hydraulic fracturing, his next move will surely be a difficult and measured one.
by Erica Mills