Ineos writes to UK government with shale gas test offer

Chemicals and energy company Ineos has written to the UK government offering to develop a fully functioning shale test site to demonstrate that fracking can be safe and secure in the UK, it said on April 10 in a statement.

The offer comes following the UK’s increasing concerns about the mounting costs of energy and its energy security. “The UK is in the midst of an energy crisis with ever-increasing prices driving people into fuel poverty whilst giving huge sums of money to oppressive regimes,” Jim Ratcliffe, Ineos chairman, said. “It’s a ridiculous situation with so much gas under our feet and we are today offering to drill a shale test site to show that a competent operator can be trusted to develop the technology safely.”

Ratcliffe added that the UK is right to be re-examining its energy policy and to look again at the North Sea as part of the answer to its energy needs. “But, as the US has shown, shale gas from home could make us self-sufficient in ten years and we need to re-examine this too,” he said.

Ineos said that it understands that some people still worry about fracking which is why it has written to the UK government offering to develop a fully functioning shale test site to show that the technology can be developed safely by a competent operator.  In the UK, the science behind shale was totally ignored and politicians bowed to an extreme vocal minority, finally imposing a moratorium on fracking, it said.

“We will happily invite government inspectors to monitor what we do and if, at any stage, the science shows there are problems we will stop and make good the site,” Ratcliffe said. “But if, as we believe, the opposite is true, we would ask that the government looks again at shale gas which would allow the UK to benefit from its own resources, massively reduce the cost of energy and ensure our long-term energy independence.”