The Independent reported today that Lord Browne former Chief Exec of BP and now Director of Cuadrilla (a shale gas fracking company) in an interview has said that Lancashire has the potential to be the capital of Europe’s emerging shale gas industry, which in theory could help to create as many as 50,000 jobs across the UK.
“My own view is that Lancashire has huge potential … If they had the will they could perhaps become the centre of shale gas for Europe, much as Aberdeen became the centre of oil and gas for Europe. It is not inconceivable,” Lord Browne told The Independent.
However the UK’s sole operational fracking site located near Blackpool and run by Cuadrilla was suspended last June. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is examining the report and said it expected to make a decision “soon” on the future of fracking at the Cuadrilla site and across the UK. Fracking is known as hydraulic fracturing, fracking is the process used to dislodge natural gas from shale by blasting a mixture of sand, water and chemicals into the rock.
Lord Browne, who is hopeful that the Government will approve Cuadrilla’s plans to resume fracking, said the shale gas industry “will be of enormous benefit to the nation if it works out well. We could potentially double the reserves of gas in the UK, we could add 50,000 jobs maybe, and probably even reduce the price of gas.”
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Tags: Cuadrilla, Fracking, lancashire, Lord Browne, science jobs, science jobs uk, science recruitment, science recruitment agencies, scientific jobs, scientific recruitment, scientific recruitment uk, shale gas, shale gas fracking, The Independent
