Shale Gas Prospecting Moves to UK

photo : Shaun Dunmall (Flickr)

The race for shale gas continues to gather pace, with  reports of UK being one of the newest sites for exploration.

For the British, Blackpool is a traditional seaside town, with its iconic tower, donkey rides and amusement arcades on the famous 'Golden Mile'.

That reputation may be set to change however, if the company Cuadrilla Resources is able extract gas from the nearby Bowland shale. Cuadrilla is a new name in the industry but apparently is significantly backed by private equity.

There are some concerns about the extraction of shale gas. The US Environmental Protection Agency is currently investigating the potential problems associated with hydraulic fracturing and in particular the need for high volumes of water, together with the risk of contamination by the chemicals used in the fracking process.

For the UK, with a dwindling supply of gas coming from the North Sea and an increasing reliance on imports from countries such as Russia, the possible availability of shale gas is is potentially very good news. Apparently suitable geological conditions exist in much of the North West of England, North Wales and in the area around Oxford. If Cuadrilla achieve success, we may very well see many more companies joining the hunt.
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Update - thanks to the reader for the following comment on shale gas prospects in the UK

"Boring Rock" - Prospects for Shale Gas in Britain provides the comments of Mike Stephenson of the British Geological Survey. The article can be read at http://www.naturalgasforeurope.com/