IoD Report: Shale Could Create 35,000 UK Jobs

Shale gas could create up to 35,000 jobs in the UK as well as lessening the UK's dependency on imports of gas, a report released today from the Institute of Directors (IoD) has said.

The report, "Britain's Shale Gas Potential", is released today by the IoD, an association of 40,000 company directors in the UK. In its findings, the report pointed to the success of shale gas in the US market, where it says shale now accounts for 23 per cent of domestic gas production as well as 22 per cent of domestic consumption. If UK shale production was just half as successful as in the US, the IoD says, the benefits could be immense for the UK market.

Besides creating 35,000 jobs in the UK, onshore shale could produce enough gas in the UK to meet 10 per cent of the UK's gas needs for the next 103 years while also cutting down on carbon emissions by 45 million tonnes of CO2.

The IoD said that the opportunity for energy freedom and supply security was something the UK could not afford to pass up.

"Shale gas has huge potential benefits for the UK, both economically and environmentally," Dan Lewis, Energy Policy Adviser at the IoD and co-author of the report, said today. "We have a massive reserve of shale gas sitting right beneath our feet, and we must take advantage of it. Shale isn't the answer to all our problems, but it would be a really beneficial part of the energy mix...

"Fracking has been controversial, but the reality is that with proper regulation it is no more risky than any kind of hydrocarbon extraction – if we overplay the risks, we would miss out on the very real benefits."

Britain could have reserves of up 5.3 trillion cubic feet, a British Geological Survey study has found.