The beauty of the British countryside could soon take a backseat to burning flames. That’s according to the head of Britain’s largest fracking company, who has warned that any production of shale gas would involve “flaring off” leakages.
Around 32,000 square miles –
or 64 per cent of the British countryside – could potentially be
affected by the flaring, British media reported.
The news has been met with opposition from environmental
activists, who say that the burning of leaked gas – known as
flaring – is environmentally hazardous, producing carbon dioxide as
well as noise and light pollution.
The practice is closely tied to the controversial practice of
hydraulic fracturing – also known as fracking. It involves blasting
a combination of water, chemicals, and sand into shale rocks. While
the aim is to force the rocks to release shale gas, there are some
unintended side effects – the practice has already been linked to
earthquakes and water pollution.
Despite the concerns surrounding flaring, IGas CEO Andrew Austin
says that it is necessary – and not nearly as bad for the
environment as allowing methane leakages to escape into the
air.
“Though unsightly, burning off methane is arguably a better
operational option than simply venting it into the atmosphere,”
he told The Independent. “Flaring is the normal thing in
standard oil fields, that’s why when you fly across the North Sea
you can see it. Flaring or not flaring is not the point, it is
industry practice.”
But while Austin maintains that flaring is normal and necessary,
founder and director of Bristol Group for Water Research
disagrees.
“If there was no fracking there would be no need for
flaring,” Chad Staddon told RT. He said that fracking is
“adding to local water stresses by consuming huge volumes and
also in terms of irremediable pollution of much of that
water.”
Fracking was made illegal in the UK for just over a year, after
the first hydraulic fracturing to take place in the country was
found to have caused two significant earth tremors. The government
recently lifted the ban, deeming the practice to be safe as long as
it was under close supervision.
Although fracking has become normal practice in the US, shale
gas production is only just beginning in the UK. Only one company
has carried out any fracking so far, and that has been limited to
exploratory drilling.
IGas will become the second company to begin drilling for shale
gas when it begins exploratory drilling at two sites this summer.
If the test drilling is successful, IGas hopes to begin fracking at
the sites next year.
The controversial shale gas industry has been openly supported
by Chancellor
This article originally appeared on : RT