The head of the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has said the UK may lift restrictions that were imposed on shale gas exploration in 2011.
Edward Davey made the statement in his speech at the Gastech conference in London, saying, "I hope it will prove possible for me to give a green light to shale."
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"In principle, I’m all in favour of exploiting new resources. I would welcome as much as anyone a way to boost Britain’s indigenous gas supplies and to reduce energy prices to consumers and businesses alike."
Shale gas exploration work was suspended last year after the work triggered two small earthquakes near Blackpool, increasing fears
of hydraulic fracturing.
UK Finance Minister George Osborne, speaking at the ruling Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, said he was considering a "generous new tax regime" to encourage investment in shale gas.
An aide of Osborne’s told reporters at the conference that one option for a shale gas tax regime is to remove it from a supplementary charge on corporation tax that applies to offshore North Sea oil and gas exploration.
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By GlobalData"I’m sure there are other options, but that is why we want to have a consultation with the industry," the aide added.
"The idea that we should be sitting on enormous energy reserves that could potentially create thousands of jobs and reduce consumer bills and not do anything about it is absolutely absurd."
The British business lobby welcomed the government’s decision to provide incentives for shale gas exploration, reports Reuters.
Confederation of British Industry (CBI) director-general John Cridland said in a statement, "It makes sense to maximise the amount of energy we can produce at home at reasonable cost," adding that, "Incentivising the exploration of shale gas sits alongside investment in renewables."
Environmental groups and large sections of the public elsewhere in Europe oppose fracking due to unacceptable risks of water and soil pollution and health risks.
Britain’s onshore shale reserves stand at 5.3 trillion cubic feet, according to the British Geological Survey, enough to meet gas consumption for one and a half years.
