Coming from Pittsburgh to Bristol, I thought I'd have a respite from shale talk...
Turns out Britain looks to be sitting on 2x the cubic feet of recoverable gas that the Marcellus contains. The Bowland and Lias plays are poised to become to household names.
Residents in the historic spa town of Bath are concerned because of an exploratory permit to frack near the source of the ancient Roman spring, a UN World Heritage site. Drilling companies supply Parliament with long reports and testimony abut the safety and excellent regulatory structures Britain already has in place to safely develop this low carbon emitting energy resource. There has never been a case of groundwater contamination in the US they claim. Economically depressed, former coal-mining regions in Wales are delighted at the prospect of jobs and economic revival. Investors scurry for insider buys and leasing control -- who will supply the sand, pipe and labour? Environmentalists fear well water and aquifer contamination. The discussion has not yet turned to phase 2 impacts -- the pipeline and compressor infrastructure and its impacts on air quality, ecosystem fragmentation, and the loss of bucolic QOL and tourism issues. It sounds o' so familiar.
Here's a skim of some recent news:
Vast reserves of shale gas revealed in UK (Guardian 9/21/11)
Huge natural gas field in north-west England revealed, but environmentalists alarmed at controversial fracking method
The potential for shale gas is worth exploration (Guardian 9/21/11)
The industry is governed by one of the most robust and stringent regulatory frameworks in the world
'Fracking threat' to Bath's hot springs, says council (BBC 9/28/11)
Fracking plans may pose threat to Bath's ancient springs (Independent 9/29/11)
Protestors ramp up pressure over shale gas 'fracking' fears (Wales Online 9/30/11)
And for some background an official gov't report.