Hydraulic Fracturing to Proceed in Scotland

Scotland on Sunday reports that Greenpark Energy, has received approval from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency for the use of hydraulic fracturing in the extraction of coal bed methane gas.

Greenpark is searching for gas at a site at Canonbie in Dumfries and Galloway where is has already conducted exploratory drilling several hundreds of metres into the ground. The company is also seeking a licence for a second site in the area, two miles north of the Scottish Border, in a bid to tap into gas trapped in 400,000 tonnes of coal deep underground.

David Harper, an executive vice president at Greenpark Energy, confirmed that as well as having permission to use fracking at one site, the company has lodged an application to use the technique at a second site, although operations were not currently being carried out.

“We like to be able to secure consent to do things but we are doing neither drilling nor fracking in Scotland at the moment,” he said.

Malcolm Roberts, a principal policy officer at Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) said fracking was likely to become more widespread in Scotland in coming years.

“I don’t associate the risks with fracking as being any more significant than a lot of other things we do,” he said. “They are not high-risk operations provided they are done properly.”

Roberts said the primary concern was to make sure ground water was not contaminated with the fracturing fluid, potentially leading to poisoned drinking water supplies.

Dart Energy has signed the five-year deal to supply Scotia Gas Networks with methane that it expects to extract from its 329 square kilometre acreage near Airth in Stirlingshire using coal bed methane (CBM) extraction. Although this is being done without fracking, the company has not ruled out applying for a licence to use the technique if it discovers shale beneath the coal.

Read the Full Article from Scotland on Sunday HERE

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