[ad_1]
Fracking firms plan £1billion legal battle for ban after Government shock gas extraction change
- Companies associated with the sector are planning to launch one or more cases
- Liz Truss lifted the moratorium on investment during her short term as prime minister
- Companies and investors were angry after the moratorium was also imposed by Rishi Sunak
The fracking industry is investigating a major legal challenge worth between £500m and £1billion against the Government after it abruptly halted shale gas extraction last month.
Companies and other groups associated with the sector are planning to launch one or more cases.
Liz Truss lifted the moratorium on renewables during her short term as prime minister, saying the start-up of Britain’s renewable energy industry would make the country more energy secure.
Concerns: The main reason the Government has moved to ban fracking is because it can cause small earthquakes
It is estimated that the UK is home to over 50 years of shale gas deposits. But companies and investors were furious after the rapid renewal of the moratorium when Rishi Sunak took power, as promised in the 2019 Conservative manifesto.
Failing to plead with the Government to lift the ban again, the industry now wants to pay back years of investment.
A source said: ‘It is about to reach hundreds of millions of pounds – more than £500m and possibly £1 billion.’
Ministers say they need new scientific evidence that stripping is not harmful. The process involves injecting a mixture of sand, water and chemicals into the ground to break up the rock and release trapped gas.
The main reason why the Government has turned to ban fracking is because it causes small earthquakes.
Fracking is subject to stricter regulations than any other industry. The source said: ‘If the rules are the same, the UK will have no mining, construction or geothermal.’
The Mail understands the department and civil servants were strategizing up until the day before the U-turn.
Sources say the plans could see the UK produce natural gas within two years.
The main operators are Cuadrilla, Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos, Aurora Energy Resources and listed firms Egdon Resources and IGas, whose investors include the fund run by financier Crispin Odey.
In a statement announcing the ban, IGas said it was ‘shocked and disappointed’ by the decision and ‘reserves the right to pursue any legal remedies available.’
A spokesman for industry group UK Onshore Oil & Gas said ‘no option’ was off the table after the U-turn.
[ad_2]
Source link
