13th Jul 2015 12:28
LONDON (Alliance News) - National parks and other areas of outstanding beauty in the UK could become surrounded by fracking rigs to allow companies to extract shale gas from underground without penetrating the surface within the protected areas, The Telegraph reported Saturday.
Ministers previously agreed to an "outright ban" on fracking in such protected areas, but are this week expected to put forward legislation allowing the controversial process to take place underneath the areas ? so long as drilling rigs are stationed just outside their boundaries.
Campaigners fear the government's plans could see areas such as the North York Moors and South Downs national parks, which are believed to be particularly rich in shale, circled by rigs as companies seek to extract the gas and oil beneath them.
Fracking typically involves drilling more than a mile down into the ground and then out horizontally, potentially for more than a mile and a half ? enabling companies to access the resources under national parks without breaking the ground at their surface.
The North York Moors national park is under a particular limelight after approving what will be the world's largest potash mine once it is built by Sirius Minerals PLC.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/energy/fracking/11732864/Fracking-rigs-could-circle-national-parks-under-Government-plans.html
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Sirius Minerals