Reuters: UK minister says demand picking up for fracking licences

Britain's first round of shale gas licensing in six years is attracting solid interest from investors, according to business and energy minister Matt Hancock, who says the country has a duty to use fracking to secure its future energy supply.

Energy security sits high on Britain's list of political priorities as its once-plentiful North Sea oil and gas resources dwindle and the geopolitical risks of relying on energy imports rise.

In response, the government is trying to foster investment from firms who can extract oil and gas trapped in the porous rocks underneath swathes of the British countryside using a process known as fracking.
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