UK Shale Gas Investment Waits On Clearer Regulations, Shell CEO Says

The head of international energy giant Shell says any investment in shale gas in Britain would depend upon greater clarity in the regulatory system surrounding extraction.

Peter Voser also said the population density in Europe made shale extraction a different proposition.

The chief executive was speaking in a series of appearances to do with the multinational's latest set of financial results.

Shell reported quarterly profit of $5.8 billion, below analysts' expectations.

In an interview with CNBC, Voser said that the company's results for the year were in line with expectations. Asked about development of shale gas projects, he said the price of gas in the US would need to rise for a larger investment in these. "Because of prices in the US, I don't see big moves in 2013," he told the business cable station. "If [gas] prices recover we can put more investment in there to get production up again," he said.

Voser said that prices in the $3-5 or $4-6 range would be needed for most projects in that area to "make sense".

In an interview with Bloomberg, when asked about shale gas in the UK, Voser said that from "a geological point of view" he agreed with the potential of shale. "The thing is how much, you need a certain amount to justify the investment. At Shell we are looking at it, but in Europe it will be different because population density is much higher, and regulations are not yet spelled out as much as they should be," Voser said.

The statements said that liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales rose by 7% in 2011, with a total figure of 20.2 million tonnes.

The company said the increase reflected the successful ramp-up of Qatargas 4 LNG in Qatar and the start-up of Pluto LNG in Australia.

In the fourth quarter Shell sold 5.49 million tonnes of LNG, up 13% compared with the same quarter a year ago.