PM Cameron: Dispel Myths, Focus on Benefits of UK Shale

David Cameron has said that direct benefits to communities will assist in moving shale exploration forward in the United Kingdom.

"If people can see a direct benefit from fracking and from shale gas, they will be more willing to really look at the arguments about what this will mean for 'my community' if it goes ahead," commented the British Prime Minister.

The government has proposed community benefits regime under which local communities hosting hydraulic fracturing (fracking) sites would receive £100,000 for each well and one percent of production revenues if drilling proves the well commercially viable; an amount that an shale industry association has estimated at between £5m and £10m per well over 25 years.

Speaking at an industrial operation in Lancashire, the site of a major shale gas discovery, Cameron pointed to the economic benefits that shale gas development had provided to industry and householders in the United States.

Cameron said that Britain faced making a big “making a big mistake” if it did not seriously consider the prospects for fracking providing cheaper gas prices.

“I want to make sure that Britain does not miss out” Cameron said, pointing out that British communities could reap similar advantages.

Addressing environmental concerns related to the controversial shale extraction technique of fracking, the PM assured the gathering that "very clear environmental procedures and certificates would be in place," prior to any development occurring.

“Nothing is going to happen in this country unless its environmentally safe. There is no question of having earthquakes and fire coming out of taps and all the rest of it."