One of the world's largest chemicals and energy companies, INEOS, yesterday made an offer to the UK Government to safely develop a fully-functioning shale gas test site to demonstrate that fracking technology can be safe and secure.
The move comes following increasing concerns in Britain about the mounting costs of energy and the country's energy security.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the INEOS founder and chairman, said: "The UK is in the midst of an energy crisis with ever-increasing prices driving people into fuel poverty whilst giving huge sums of money to oppressive regimes.
"It's a ridiculous situation with so much gas under our feet - and we are today offering to drill a shale test site to show that a competent operator can be trusted to develop the technology safely."
He feels that fracking has been demonised by an ignorant minority.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced last week that he had commissioned a new report into the latest science around fracking as the UK Government considers new sources of energy in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A four-year study led by Newcastle University will inform the latest review of fracking. It has concluded there are now better tools to predict and mitigate the earthquake risks.
A moratorium was placed on fracking south of the border in 2019. Also that year, the Scottish Government set out a finalised policy of no support for unconventional oil and gas development, which includes fracking.
Mr Ratcliffe said yesterday that UK gas prices are almost 10 times the level of those in the US - up from just under three times a year ago.
He added: "The development of the North Sea from the 1960s allowed the UK to develop an enviable degree of energy independence from the rest of the world. Not only did we have a secure, long-term supply of gas, we also had a well-planned fleet of nuclear reactors providing a significant proportion of low-carbon electricity.
"All of that has disappeared, with successive governments of all political colours having no coherent energy policy.
Energy policy is a long game and maybe it's just not suited to being managed by politicians with inevitable short-term horizons.
“INEOS invested over £250million in looking at the safe extraction of gas from UK shale. We did this with the full and enthusiastic support of the government at the time and with a clear promise that only sound science would be used in the assessment of this technology. We were clearly naive to trust in that promise.
"The sad reality of the short history of the UK shale industry was that the science was totally ignored and our politicians reacted to a false public perception of the so-called dangers by introducing a moratorium on development.
"Our £250million investment did not even get us to first base. We identified significant reserves of gas across the whole of the North of England, but were not allowed to develop a single test well to prove that the technology could be operated safely. Our £250million of investment was destroyed with the flick of a political switch, with no offer of compensation and not even the decency of an apology.
"Fracking was demonised by an ignorant minority when the reality was so different. As a technique, it has been widely and safely used in the oil and gas industry for 50 years both offshore and onshore. In the US, over a million wells have been drilled and safely operated for the past 15 years and have transformed the energy security of that country."
FTSE 100
Brent crude futures were down 1.67% at $100.98 a barrel earlier this morning.
The UK's leading share index, the FTSE 100, was down 36 points at 7,632 shortly after trading began today, after finishing Friday 117 points ahead.
Companies reporting today
- Finals: Tortilla Mexican Grill
Other announcements
- ONS monthly GDP estimate for February
- ONS trade figures for UK for February