Express: Fledgling shale gas sector takes wings

RECOVERING shale gas in the UK, seen as a major potential resource to replace dwindling North Sea supplies, is likely to cost more than it does in the US but will have to have more rigorous environmental controls according to the head of the onshore operators group, UKOOG.

The group’s chief executive Ken Cronin said that the fledgling industry was entering a key exploration and appraisal phase.

This year several firms are preparing to explore for natural gas trapped in shale formations in the UK.

Hopes are high that Britain has big reserves of recoverable shale gas, which has caused an energy revolution in the US by boosting supplies and reducing prices.

In Britain, the North West, Scotland, Wales, Kent and Dorset are potentially rich in the resource. Cronin said: “There is gas in place and it is likely to be a big number, but the question is what is technically recoverable.  MORE