UKOOG welcomes the Government’s move to speed up decision making on shale gas applications

13 August 2015

UKOOG, the representative body for the UK’s onshore oil and gas industry, welcomes the announcement today on planning decisions for natural gas development in the UK and that shale is to be treated as a national priority.

Ken Cronin, chief executive of UKOOG: “The onshore oil and gas industry is committed to consulting and working with local communities to develop the gas resources that this country desperately needs to access. However, recent experience has shown that the planning process is unwieldy and the time taken for planning decisions has soared from three months to over a year, causing delay and cost and this is not the interests of local people, the industry, or indeed the British people. It is right that the Government is acting to ensure that local people can have their say and that the highest standards of safety and environmental protection are met, but also ensuring that the planning process itself is fit for purpose.

“With over 4 in 5 of our homes using gas for heating and cooking, with gas being used by our manufacturing industries to make essential products and with over 80% of our gas predicted to come from overseas by 2030, it is essential that this country develops sources of this essential energy resource that is below our feet.”

Contact:

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Notes to editors:

• UK Government polling shows approximately 70% of those polled either have no opinion or are supportive of shale gas development.
• 83% of our homes use gas for heating and cooking
• Over 500,000 people are employed in industries that use gas as a raw material
• Gas is employed in many every day products including computers, cosmetics and packaging
• Gas is intrinsic to our economy and also supplies 30% of our electricity
• But within 15 years 80% of our gas will come from outside the UK at a time when Europe is burning more coal

About UKOOG:

UKOOG is the representative body for the UK onshore oil and gas industry, including exploration, production and storage. The organisation’s objectives are to enhance the profile of the onshore industry, promote better and more open dialogue with key stakeholders, deliver industry wide initiatives and programmes and to ensure standards in safety, the environment and operations are maintained to the highest possible level. Membership is open to all companies active in the onshore industry including those involved in the supply chain. www.ukoog.org.uk