Bloomberg: Shale Gas Production in U.K. Will Take Up to 5 Years to Start
Producing shale gas on a commercial scale in the U.K. will take as long as five years as explorers get to grips with local geology.
“Until we have the chance to explore more, to know more about the geology of U.K. shale, we can’t do much about it,” said Richard Smead, director in the energy practice of Navigant Consulting (NCI), who’s assesed the performance of U.S. fields. “Plus, the government has to find a way to share the benefits of shale gas exploration with local communities and landowners.”
The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has promised tax breaks to encourage the development of shale reserves to replace aging gas fields in the North Sea. Politicians are looking at the U.S., which became the world’s largest gas producer after drillers used pressurized water, sand and chemicals to force fuel from shale rock.