Scotland's policy against fracking will not change, despite a ban being lifted in England.
Scottish Energy Secretary Michael Matheson yesterday reiterated the Scottish Government's opposition to new fracking licences.
The BBC reports that a ban on the controversial process of extracting gas and oil from shale rock has been lifted in England by the new UK Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, involves shooting a mix of water, sand and chemicals at rocks underground to retrieve the hydrocarbons trapped inside them.
In the US, it is credited with unlocking a lucrative shale boom that reshaped global markets and helped America achieve energy independence.
Conservative MPs have wanted the Government to ease restrictions to allow fracking firms to access the huge Bowland-Hodder shale gas basin under the Midlands and the north of England.
Self-sufficient
The industry claims that, if just 10% of the estimated in-place resources were recovered, the UK would be self-sufficient in natural gas for 50 years.
But a moratorium was put in place south of the border in 2019 following concerns over earth tremors.
Mr Matheson said after the announcement in Westminster: "To be clear - this policy change does not apply in Scotland.
"Fracking can only happen here if licences are issued by the Scottish Government and we do not intend to issue any licences."
At the end of 2019, the Scottish Government set out a finalised policy of no support for unconventional oil and gas development, which includes fracking.
The decision by Mr Rees-Mogg comes alongside the publication of a new scientific review into the practice by the British Geological Survey (BGS).
Limited understanding
The BGS concluded there was still a limited understanding of the impacts of such drilling.
Mr Rees-Mogg said the existing pause on fracking was being lifted in England to examine new potential sources of gas.
Liz Truss's government has vowed to explore all avenues to improve energy security in response to the war in Ukraine.
Fracking in the UK has been a controversial subject within local communities and among MPs, partly due to its association with minor earthquakes and environmental concerns.
In 2019, at oil and gas exploration company Cuadrilla's fracking site in Lancashire, more than 120 tremors were recorded - although most were too small to be felt.