Firms to Seek Shale Gas in Wales

Politician Changes Tone as Constituents May Benefit

South Wales firm Coastal Oil and Gas together with Australian Eden Energy, have made application to for permission to drill a test borehole for shale gas 700m below ground in part of the rural Vale of Glamorgan.

Coastal Oil and Gas Limited has identified a site at Llandow to extract mineral samples. If successful, the firm believes the gas could create jobs and reduce the UK’s dependency on oil imports.

The potential for local job-creation was last night described as “exciting” by Huw Irranca-Davies, Member of Parliament for Vale of Ogmore and the Shadow Energy Minister, who said it could reduce the UK’s dependency on foreign gas as North Sea supplies run down.

“This could have a huge potential both in the UK and Europe. The stocks in the North Sea are declining, hence we are now reliant on imported gas,” Mr. Irranca-Davies said. “It could give us not only secure gas, but also possible more affordable gas. The jobs that could come with it is also exciting.”

The very same Mr. Irranca-Davies recently called for work at Britain’s first shale gas exploration well, near Blackpool, to stop while its safety is checked by the Energy and Climate Change Committee.

A company spokesman said: “We are not at the fracking stage – what we are doing in this planning application has got nothing to do with fracking.

“Once we know that there is potential, then we will go and talk to the planners and the MPs and explain what we have to do to release the gas.”

Irranca-Davies said Vale residents should not be concerned about the proposed Llandow test borehole, but said fracking must be proved “absolutely environmentally safe” before commercial extraction of gas was allowed to go ahead.

Source: Wales Online