The Government has published a "regulatory roadmap" which sets out the series of permits and permissions developers need to obtain prior to drilling for onshore oil and gas, to provide certainty to investors and local communities about what the permitting process entails. In addition, a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) has also been produced by the Government by engineering and project management firm, AMEC.
The SEA sets out the potential economic and environmental effects of further oil and gas activity in Great Britain, including shale oil and gas production. The assessment was carried out in preparation for the launch of the next round of licenses being made available for onshore oil and gas exploration and production. Two scenarios were measured, a 'high activity scenario' and a 'low activity scenario'. The 'high activity scenario' in the SEA assumes that a substantial amount of shale gas is produced during the 2020s, between 4.32 and 8.64 trillion cubic feet, which is up to three times current gas demands in the UK.
A consultation will no run until March to consider the findings of the report and how this affects shale gas production in the UK. A new licensing round to allow companies to explore for shale gas will be launched in the summer. Energy Minister, Michael Fallon, expects between 50 and 150 licences to be issued.
The Government argues that drilling for shale gas by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) could create thousands of jobs and give back almost £1 billion to local communities through benefit schemes. However, activist groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth are heavily against fracking and believe it would have an adverse impact on traffic congestion and noise and air quality. Amec's report stated that there could be between 14 and 51 vehicle movements to a fracking site each day over a 32 to 145-week period.
Zyda Law is a recognised, leading, and award winning, boutique law firm specialising in planning and environmental law for major infrastructure projects. We are experts in navigating European and UK (England, Wales and Scotland) regulatory and statutory processes to secure development consents and environmental permits for major projects in three sectors: energy, waste and rail.
We have worked with INEOS Enterprises Ltd to secure planning permission and hazardous substances consent for an underground gas storage facility and above ground compressor plant in Cheshire. We have also helped Scottish Power to secure an 800MW extension to their Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Generating Station in Kent. With our extensive experience of obtaining relevant consents for major gas infrastructure projects, Zyda Law is well placed to advise on respect of applications for permission to begin exploratory works for shale gas, leading to the drilling process of hydraulic fracturing.
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