UK's Johnson hints at return to fracking
UK prime minister Boris Johnson considers a lifting of the ban on hydraulic fracturing as one of the options on the table, as the UK looks at ways to bolster domestic energy supply in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, The Financial Times reported on March 9.
Johnson's government imposed a ban on the unconventional production technique, otherwise known as fracking, in 2019, even though the ruling Conservative party previously supported its use to exploit the Bowland Shale in north England, estimated by the British Geological Survey to contain 37.6 trillion m3 in in-place shale gas.
Cuadrilla Resources, one of the few companies that has attempted to advance shale gas projects in the UK, was ordered in February to plug and abandon the country's only horizontal wells targeting the resource. At the time Cuadrilla lamented that the ban on fracking would cost the UK billions of pounds in extra bills for imported gas.
"Everyone would expect the prime minister to look at all our options," a Downing Street spokesperson told the FT, when asked if the moratorium on fracking could be ended.
There are growing calls among Conservative members of parliament for the ban to be lifted. Former Brexit minister David Frost was among a reported 30 MPs to urge the prime minister to make fracking legal again in an open letter last month.
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has been resisting these calls, although on March 9 he said the government had always had an "open mind" if fracking could be done in a way that was safe and sustainable.
According to The FT, Johnson is looking at various ways of expanding production of oil and gas from domestic sources in light of Moscow's actions in Ukraine, which have triggered a concerted push by European countries to draw up strategies to wean themselves off Russian hydrocarbons. The Times reports that ministers are considering the launch of a new offshore licensing round for exploration projects – the first to be held since 2019.
In a Downing Street press conference on March 7, Johnson said it is "completely the right thing to do" in order to move away from reliance on Russian energy.
"We have got to make sure we have substitute supply. One of the things we are looking at is the possibility of using more of our own hydrocarbons ... We need to increase our self-reliance," he said.
The UK only receives about 4% of its gas supply from Russia, but a potential disruption in Russian deliveries to Europe would have a knock-on effect on UK consumers, leading to higher prices and possible energy shortages.