Energy Technology Assessment of Shale Gas ‘Fracking’ in the UK

What is it about?

There is at present much interest in unconventional sources of natural gas, especially in shale gas which is obtained by hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’. In the United Kingdom (UK) exploratory drilling is at an early stage, with licences being issued to drill a limited number of test boreholes around the country. However, such activities are already meeting community resistance and controversy. Like all energy technologies it exhibits unwanted ‘side-effects’; these simply differ in their level of severity between the various options. Shale gas may make, for example, a contribution to attaining the UK’s statutory ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions targets, but only if appropriate and robust regulations are enforced. The benefits and disadvantages of shale gas fracking are therefore discussed in order to illustrate a ‘balance sheet’ approach. It is also argued that it is desirable to bring together experts from a range of disciplines in order to carry out energy technology assessments. That should draw on and interact with national and local stakeholders: ‘actors’ both large and small. Community engagement in a genuinely participative process – where the government is prepared to change course in response to the evidence and public opinion – will consequently be critically important for the adoption of any new energy option that might meet the needs of a low carbon future.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’, for shale gas is a particularly controversial energy option that is receiving significant development support from government in the UK. Licenses have been issued by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to drill a limited number of test boreholes around the country (see, for the case of England). These boreholes are then lined with steel tubes, and a mixture of water and sand with small quantities of chemicals – the fracking fluid – is pumped into them at very high pressure. The sand grains that wedge into the cracks induced in the shale rock by a ‘perforating gun’ then releases gas which returns up the tubes. The UK Government is attracted by the possible benefits of securing large quantities of shale gas for the UK as an energy ‘game changer’: leading to a potential ‘Golden Age of Gas’, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA sees shale gas as contributing about 14% to global gas production by 2035. However, the exploitation of fracking will involve a range of advantages and disadvantages (‘credits and debits’) that will fall disproportionately on different sections of British society. So it is necessary to identify the components of a shale gas fracking ‘balance sheet’ of the sort employed in technology assessment in order to evaluate its impact on communities, countryside and wildlife, and to determine whether it is compatible with Britain’s move towards a low carbon future in 2050 and beyond.

Perspectives