Shale could fuel UK for 10 years, say experts
We have RSN members who weren’t on the laughing end of shale gas exploration last year. In view of the fuel poverty issue faced by many rural communities however I cant help finding the prospect of cheaper energy in rural England interesting if not alluring. I also however appreciate even if it is possible to get the stuff out it might not necessarily lead to cheaper fuel – still in profiling this story I cant help giving breathing space to my positive side!
The US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report that it now estimated Britain’s “technically recoverable shale resources” at 26 trillion cubic feet (tcf), compared with annual UK gas consumption of about 3 tcf.
The EIA also said for the first time that it believed Britain had shale oil, estimating that some 700m barrels could be extracted.
The figures indicate the volumes that the UK should be able to extract from the ground using current technology, but do not take into account whether or not it will be economic to do so.
The report warns of opposition to shale gas extraction in the UK and says fracking “got off to an abysmal start” after Cuadrilla caused earth tremors near Blackpool in 2011.
Fracking involves blasting water and chemicals into the ground to “hydraulically fracture” the rock, extracting the gas or oil trapped within it.