Rigzone: UK Shale Gas: An Energy Red Herring?

News last September that testing by energy firm Cuadrilla Resources had found up to 200 trillion cubic feet of gas bound in shale rock in Lancashire, England, got plenty of media attention in the UK and set off a debate about the pros and cons of shale drilling in such a densely-populated European country.

A number of protest groups have been gaining support not only in opposition to drilling for shale gas at Cuadrilla’s Bowland Shale operations, near the once-popular seaside resort of Blackpool, but also in West Sussex in the southeast of England as well as in Wales.

Shale gas is natural gas (methane) that is trapped within shale rock. The controversy surrounding it is to do with the way that the gas is extracted via hydraulic fracturing or "fracking ".  MORE