Engineering news
The trade association backing the development of the shale gas industry in Britain has welcomed a poll carried out on behalf of Greenpeace that shows more people in the UK support fracking than oppose it.
The United Kingdom Onshore Oil and Gas association (UKOOG) said it welcomed the results of the ComRes survey, which was apparently commissioned by the leading environmental charity. The survey shows 42% of British people support fracking for natural gas, while 35% oppose it.
Ken Cronin, chief executive of UKOOG, said: “This poll – ironically commissioned by people who oppose fracking – shows that when presented with the real facts about the safety and low environmental impact of shale gas operations, British people will support onshore oil and gas exploration.
“The poll also shows that 57% people say that a candidate’s support for fracking either makes them more likely to vote in their favour or no difference. Greenpeace’s own facts simply do not support their rhetoric on fracking.”
ComRes interviewed more than 2,000 British adults online between 20 and 22 March. The data were weighted to be representative of all British adults aged 18+.
Last month, petrochemicals giant Ineos announced a multi-million pound deal that saw it acquire a 50% interest in seven shale gas licences in the North West owned by independent exploration firm IGas, along with the option to buy a 20% interest in two further licences in the East Midlands.
Ineos is also acquiring IGas’s interest in the shale gas licence around Grangemouth in Scotland, which will give the company 100% ownership of this asset. Ineos, which will invest £750 million in the sector over the next few years, has plans to drill hundreds of shale gas exploration wells across the country.
The level of public opposition to shale gas activities has long been a source of frustration for Cronin, who says that onshore exploration and production has been successfully carried out in sensitive areas for decades. In an interview to be published in this month's PE, he says the public has been taken in by the “misinformation and bad science” surrounding fracking.
Greenpeace did not return requests for comment.