UK Shale Gas Development Faces New Permitting Hurdles

Britain’s pursuit of energy security and potentially lower future natural gas prices for industry and householders will have to wait a bit longer.

The nation's Environment Agency has indicated that the permitting process required to allow for the exploration of the unconventional gas and oil, will likely be extended allow for additional consultations.

Responding to “the current level of public interest,” the regulator stated that it would treat shale development sites as “being of high public interest,” which could require lengthier or additional rounds of consultation.

In late June, the UK government announced a series of measures to assist the development of the shale gas industry. 

The package of planning, environmental regulation, and community benefits, included a pledge to “significantly reduce the time it takes to obtain environmental permits for exploration.”

However, the proposed new guidance could see the granting of approvals of environmental permits changing significantly from the current period of 13 weeks.

 “Where there is a lot of public interest, determining a permit may take four to six months” or potentially even longer, it said.

 “The main factors affecting the timeframe are the quality of the application and how locally contentious the site is," the EA said, indicating that “anti-shale” activists will have opportunity to state their case.

“Good quality applications and local support through effective engagement generally result in faster determinations and more effective public consultations.”

The news from the environmental regulator comes after this week saw the strongest statements from British Prime Minister David Cameron, who said that Britain faced making a big “making a big mistake” if it did not seriously consider the prospects for shale gas.