Engineering news
Developing shale gas in the UK could attract £33 billion of investment and create up to 64,000 jobs, a report for the industry claims.
The study for the UK Onshore Operators Group estimates that drilling up to 4,000 wells for shale gas over 18 years would create jobs directly linked to exploration sites, in the supply chain and in supporting services.
Billions of pounds of investment would be needed to provide specialised equipment, steel, rig manufacturing and waste, storage and transportation services, the report says.
However, the report's authors, consultants Ernst & Young (EY), warn that the UK needs to act now to provide the necessary infrastructure, supply chain standards and skills before developers look overseas.
Chris Lewis, partner advisory services at EY and the author of the report, said: "Our study shows that the opportunity from shale gas is at such impressive scale.
"This is a unique opportunity to secure the future of the next generation's energy users, but industry and government need to take action now for the necessary infrastructure, supply chain standards and skills to be ready in time."
However, the report has attracted heavy criticism. Greenpeace UK chief scientist, Dr Doug Parr, said: "This report is a rehash of rose-tinted industry guesstimates about the economic potential of fracking in the UK.
"Paying accountants to tally up hypothetical jobs won't change the fact that executives still have no idea whether they'll actually be able to get gas out of the ground on a commercial scale in the UK.
"Scratch beneath the hype and this report is actually a veiled plea for government and taxpayer support for an industry that has stalled before even taking off."
He urged ministers to support the low carbon energy sector to help make the UK's energy supplies "cleaner and safer".
Meanwhile, ministers want to change trespass laws to give energy companies the right to run shale gas pipelines under private land, according to media reports. The companies would still need planning permission to drill.
The move will be included in the Queen's Speech on 4 June as part of the Infrastructure Bill.