UK government halts fracking in run-up to election

With the United Kingdom just weeks away from a general election, the nation's government has called a sudden halt to the highly controversial practice of extracting natural gas from shale, a process known as fracking.

The suspension followed the publication of a report by the Oil and Gas Authority that says it is not possible to predict whether fracking might cause tremors or small earthquakes.

Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said the suspension might only be temporary, if the process can be proven safe, or if another form of fracking is found. And she said, on Radio 4's Today program, that shale gas remains a "huge opportunity" for the UK.

"We will follow the science and it is quite clear that we can't be certain," she said. "The science isn't accurate enough to be able to assess the fault lines, the geological studies have been shown to be inaccurate. So, therefore, unless and until we can be absolutely certain, we are imposing a moratorium."

The opposition Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, and the Green Party have all said any ban should be permanent.

Fracking, which involves pressurized water and sand being pumped into rocks deep beneath the ground to fracture them and allow natural gas and petroleum to escape, has been highly controversial in the UK because of fears it might trigger earthquakes and because of environmental concerns.

So far, only one company has been licensed to carry out fracking operations in the UK.

Cuadrilla Resources has set up a facility in the county of Lancashire but had to temporarily suspend its operations in August when a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was detected.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy now says "further consents for fracking will not be granted" until the industry can demonstrate it is safe.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, said the suspension was a stunt ahead of the Dec 12 vote to choose a new government. And Sam Gyimah, who was the government's energy minister before he resigned from the Conservative Party in September and joined the Liberal Democrats, said Boris Johnson's government is not serious about environmental issues.

"It's interesting that, just as we approach an election, he has decided he is against fracking," the BBC quoted him as saying.

Fracking is, however, likely to continue to be an important issue in the UK because of the nation's large shale gas resources. An assessment by the British Geological Survey in 2013 found there could be enough shale gas deposits beneath the UK to provide adequate gas to power the nation for 50 years.

Johnson has strongly supported fracking in the past, even going as far as to write in the Daily Telegraph newspaper that the discovery of shale gas deposits beneath the UK was "glorious news for humanity".

The suspension only relates to fracking in England because the practice is already outlawed in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The Financial Times noted that, nationally, 35 percent of people oppose fracking while only 15 percent support it. The other 50 percent have not made up their minds.