INEOS, the petrochemical firm run by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, proposes to drill a test well using fracking in a bid to prove the controversial technique is safe and unlock the UK’s potentially vast domestic shale gas resources.
The UK government last week launched a review of the shale gas fracking, ordering an expert report, alongside its new domestic energy strategy which seeks to ween Britain off imported energy in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ratcliffe claims UK shale gas could make the country self-sufficient for energy within the next decade if the fledgling industry is allowed to develop – thus far progress faltered and stalled due to a moratorium on fracking after small earthquakes were triggered due to wells in Lancashire.
INEOS says it has written to the government offering to develop a test site, and, will invite government inspectors to monitor operations.
“Fracking was demonised by an ignorant minority when the reality was so different,” Ratcliffe said in a statement on the INEOS website.
“As a technique it has been widely and safely used in the oil and gas industry for 50 years both offshore and onshore. In the US, over a million wells have been drilled and safely operated for the past 15 years and have transformed the energy security of that country.”
He added: “We are willing to develop a fully functioning shale test site to prove that this technology can be used safely by a competent operator. We will happily invite anyone to inspect what we do and if, at that stage, the science proves there are problems then we will stop and make good the site.
“If, as we believe, the opposite is true, then we will at least have made a start in rebuilding our energy independence for an unpredictable future.”