Latest news with #EgdonResources
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Public can have say on latest oil drilling update
A campaign group is urging residents to have their say on the latest stage of a long-running legal battle over oil drilling in the Lincolnshire Wolds. The decision to approve an oilfield in Biscathorpe was quashed in July last year following a Supreme Court judgement after a claim had been brought in by SOS Biscathorpe. Last year, justices at the Supreme Court said emissions created by burning fossil fuels should be considered when granting planning permission for new drilling sites. The public have until 28 July to submit their opinions on further information submitted by the developer, Egdon Resources, on the potential climate impact of burning extracted oil. Mark Abbott, chief executive officer at Edgon Resources, said the company had submitted an assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions at the request of the Planning Inspectorate. The documents can be viewed on the planning applications portal on Lincolnshire County Council's website. The application for an oil well at Biscathorpe was initially refused by Lincolnshire County Council in 2021, but the company successfully appealed it before it was taken to the High Court. SOS Biscathorpe, which has been fighting the plans for years, said the development "delivers almost nothing for national energy security, while threatening the integrity of one of Lincolnshire's most treasured natural areas". Mr Abbott said: "Although we are in transition away from fossil fuels, we are still highly reliant on oil and gas for transportation, heating our homes and running our businesses." According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Egdon Resources previously said it could potentially extract 6.5 million barrels of oil over 15 years at the site. People wanting to submit their opinions can do so by writing to the Planning Inspectorate using the Planning Inspectorate Portal on its website, a document on the appeal application stated. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Wolds oil drilling plans quashed in landmark ruling Oil drilling decision questioned at High Court 'National need' for oil justifies drilling decision Decision still awaited on oil drilling appeal Biscathorpe oil drilling appeal Planning Inspectorate Egdon Resources SOS Biscathorpe Local Democracy Reporting Service
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Britain's gas field discovery should force fracking back on the agenda
It will supply the UK with cheap gas for a decade. And it will create tens of thousands of jobs and billions in extra tax revenues, saving the Chancellor from imposing extra taxes on an already battered economy. In some alternative universe, the UK is this week celebrating the news of the huge new natural gas deposits discovered in the Gainsborough Field. Unfortunately, however, not in this one. It involves fracking, and the British political class sadly still considers that outside of acceptable discussion – even as it becomes painfully obvious that it is the one 'growth lever' that would actually work. We already knew that the UK, like much of Germany and France, was sitting on plenty of shale oil and gas. Even so, the news of the huge new Gainsborough Field has made clear the size of the opportunity. Egdon Resources, the company behind the discovery, is expected to reveal the full extent of its findings later in the month. But as this newspaper reported, the field could hold as much as 480bn cubic metres of recoverable gas, enough by itself to power the UK for seven years. According to a study by Deloitte, that would add £112bn to GDP, generate £27bn in extra tax revenue – more than the entire 'black hole' discovered by Rachel Reeves – and create tens of thousands of decent jobs in Lincolnshire, hardly the most prosperous part of the country. By replacing dirtier fuels it would even reduce overall carbon emissions while we take a few more years to gradually transition to climate friendly wind, solar and nuclear power. It is not the only field of course. The UK already had plenty of proven reserves of shale oil and gas, especially in the huge Bowland basin in the North East of England, estimated to hold up to 400bn cubic metres, alongside smaller reserves in Kent and Sussex. But the Gainsborough Field adds hugely to the UK's known reserves of shale gas. The trouble is, we are going to leave it all in the ground. Why? Because exploiting all that energy would involve fracking and to the Westminster policy class that remains a taboo subject. Ed Miliband's spokesman on Friday reiterated a pledge to 'ban fracking for good'. And yet the refusal to even consider whether the technology works or not is becoming more and more bizarre with every year that passes. It is not as if this is an industry that is completely new and unproven. Over the last decade it has been booming in the United States and Canada. In the US, gas production rose by 186pc from 2014 to 2024, while oil production rose by 14pc over the same period, with most of the increase accounted for by improvements in fracking techniques. In Canada, production has been hitting record highs in key provinces such as Alberta and British Columbia. China has been ramping up its shale gas production, with an 11pc increase in output last year. Most of the fields are in the Sichuan region and new fields are being developed in countries such as Argentina and elsewhere. Meanwhile, huge new companies have emerged out of the industry. In the last two years, the shale producer Marathon was acquired by ConocoPhillips for $22bn (£17.5bn), while ExxonMobil paid $60bn for Pioneer, another leading player in the American fracking industry. Huge amounts of wealth have been created and, in the process, the United States has become self-sufficient in energy for the first time in a generation as its production levels have hit an all time high. Indeed, most of the increased prosperity of the US compared to Europe over the last decade can be explained, not by its tech industry, but by rising energy production. Perhaps surprisingly, the key politicians driving the shale boom in North America were Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau, all of whom have impeccably liberal credentials. Donald Trump may have adopted 'drill, baby, drill' as one of his slogans, but he has been a marginal player so far. And fracking has of course proven itself completely safe. If Alberta and Texas have been engulfed by earthquakes, they have done a remarkably good job of keeping it out of the media. You might imagine we would have seen the pictures of collapsing buildings by now. Instead, there is no sign of them. It is increasingly surreal. For a comparison, imagine it was 1930 and we were still refusing to allow cars on our roads because we thought they were unsafe. Or if it was 1970, and we wouldn't allow people to own televisions because we were worried they would cause house fires. This is a technology that has been around for 15 years now, has proved itself completely safe, as well as hugely lucrative, and yet we completely refuse to even contemplate using it. It is not as if we can afford the luxury of turning down investment, or new industries. Ms Reeves, the Chancellor, is desperately searching around for 'growth levers' she can pull as she struggles to keep the economy afloat and pay for public services. But we all know that an extra runway at Heathrow, while a perfectly good idea in itself, won't make much difference to anything, and anyway will take 20 years to build even if it survives legal challenges. The Oxford-Cambridge arc is not going to be completed any time soon. With this latest huge find, the UK needs to look again at fracking. It would create tens of thousands of well paid jobs. It would improve the balance of payments by reducing our dependence on imported energy. It would rake in tens of billions in extra revenue for the Treasury, allowing public spending to be increased, or (preferably) taxes to be reduced. It is the one growth lever that will really work – all we need is a political leader with the courage to actually pull it. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
15-02-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Britain's gas field discovery should force fracking back on the agenda
It will supply the UK with cheap gas for a decade. And it will create tens of thousands of jobs and billions in extra tax revenues, saving the Chancellor from imposing extra taxes on an already battered economy. In some alternative universe, the UK is this week celebrating the news of the huge new natural gas deposits discovered in the Gainsborough Field. Unfortunately, however, not in this one. It involves fracking, and the British political class sadly still considers that outside of acceptable discussion – even as it becomes painfully obvious that it is the one 'growth lever' that would actually work. We already knew that the UK, like much of Germany and France, was sitting on plenty of shale oil and gas. Even so, the news of the huge new Gainsborough Field has made clear the size of the opportunity. Egdon Resources, the company behind the discovery, is expected to reveal the full extent of its findings later in the month. But as this newspaper reported, the field could hold as much as 480bn cubic metres of recoverable gas, enough by itself to power the UK for seven years. According to a study by Deloitte, that would add £112bn to GDP, generate £27bn in extra tax revenue – more than the entire 'black hole' discovered by Rachel Reeves – and create tens of thousands of decent jobs in Lincolnshire, hardly the most prosperous part of the country. By replacing dirtier fuels it would even reduce overall carbon emissions while we take a few more years to gradually transition to climate friendly wind, solar and nuclear power. It is not the only field of course. The UK already had plenty of proven reserves of shale oil and gas, especially in the huge Bowland basin in the North East of England, estimated to hold up to 400bn cubic metres, alongside smaller reserves in Kent and Sussex. But the Gainsborough Field adds hugely to the UK's known reserves of shale gas. The trouble is, we are going to leave it all in the ground. Why? Because exploiting all that energy would involve fracking and to the Westminster policy class that remains a taboo subject. Ed Miliband's spokesman on Friday reiterated a pledge to 'ban fracking for good'. And yet the refusal to even consider whether the technology works or not is becoming more and more bizarre with every year that passes. It is not as if this is an industry that is completely new and unproven. Over the last decade it has been booming in the United States and Canada. In the US, gas production rose by 186pc from 2014 to 2024, while oil production rose by 14pc over the same period, with most of the increase accounted for by improvements in fracking techniques. In Canada, production has been hitting record highs in key provinces such as Alberta and British Columbia. China has been ramping up its shale gas production, with an 11pc increase in output last year. Most of the fields are in the Sichuan region and new fields are being developed in countries such as Argentina and elsewhere. Meanwhile, huge new companies have emerged out of the industry. In the last two years, the shale producer Marathon was acquired by ConocoPhillips for $22bn (£17.5bn), while ExxonMobil paid $60bn for Pioneer, another leading player in the American fracking industry. Huge amounts of wealth have been created and, in the process, the United States has become self-sufficient in energy for the first time in a generation as its production levels have hit an all time high. Indeed, most of the increased prosperity of the US compared to Europe over the last decade can be explained, not by its tech industry, but by rising energy production. Perhaps surprisingly, the key politicians driving the shale boom in North America were Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau, all of whom have impeccably liberal credentials. Donald Trump may have adopted 'drill, baby, drill' as one of his slogans, but he has been a marginal player so far. And fracking has of course proven itself completely safe. If Alberta and Texas have been engulfed by earthquakes, they have done a remarkably good job of keeping it out of the media. You might imagine we would have seen the pictures of collapsing buildings by now. Instead, there is no sign of them. It is increasingly surreal. For a comparison, imagine it was 1930 and we were still refusing to allow cars on our roads because we thought they were unsafe. Or if it was 1970, and we wouldn't allow people to own televisions because we were worried they would cause house fires. This is a technology that has been around for 15 years now, has proved itself completely safe, as well as hugely lucrative, and yet we completely refuse to even contemplate using it. It is not as if we can afford the luxury of turning down investment, or new industries. Ms Reeves, the Chancellor, is desperately searching around for 'growth levers' she can pull as she struggles to keep the economy afloat and pay for public services. But we all know that an extra runway at Heathrow, while a perfectly good idea in itself, won't make much difference to anything, and anyway will take 20 years to build even if it survives legal challenges. The Oxford-Cambridge arc is not going to be completed any time soon. With this latest huge find, the UK needs to look again at fracking. It would create tens of thousands of well paid jobs. It would improve the balance of payments by reducing our dependence on imported energy. It would rake in tens of billions in extra revenue for the Treasury, allowing public spending to be increased, or (preferably) taxes to be reduced. It is the one growth lever that will really work – all we need is a political leader with the courage to actually pull it.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The entire net-zero edifice is crashing to the ground
The UK needs gas. We need it for heat: 85 per cent of UK homes use a gas boiler. We need it for power: around a third of which came from gas generation last year. Roughly half of the 'capacity market' required to back-up unreliable renewables on cold dark windless days comes from 90 gas plants. We need it for industry, with the 'clean power' alternatives still 3-4 times more expensive. The Government's net-zero ambitions don't change this reality, nor will they for at least two decades. Those capacity market plants, for example, are all on 15-year contracts. Homeowners don't want heat pumps, and the data centres required for AI need our energy system to grow, not shrink. The UK and EU tested to destruction in 2022-23 the idea that we can rely on Russia to supply what we need. The price shock, and decision to underwrite prices, helped bring down Truss administration. This year we're seeing even the Norwegians wobble on exports as supporting us is driving up their domestic prices. It is surely a statement of fact, then, that the UK's energy security depends affordable supplies of gas. Yet we have some of the world's most expensive energy, due to over-reliance on imports, and the failure of the alternatives to fossil fuels to live up to their promise to cut bills. So great news, the plucky drillers at Egdon Resources, after years of tests, believe they've found a massive new source of supply, under our feet, in the East Midlands. Noting that early drilling estimates are just that, it is claimed it could generate over £100 billion in revenues, £27 billion in tax, 'thousands of jobs' and reduce 218m tonnes of CO2 emissions by displacing imports. Win, win, win, win. A serious government, cheered on by a serious Parliament, would be bending over backwards to ensure Egdon can 'drill, baby, drill' as soon as possible. Ed Miliband, our Energy Secretary, would be driving 50 miles south from his constituency, hi-vis jacket at the ready, to open the site. Sadly, he's more likely to be standing with the single-issue anti-fracking campaign groups. We are now more than two decades into a Parliamentary consensus that we must either leave gas in the ground, or make it so expensive to extract, that it amounts to the same thing. Net-zero is a moral crusade not a consideration of trade-offs with affordability and security, both of which are far more important to the public. They also find it hard to explain those choices to local residents. Even when the politicians are supportive, the laws they've made allow Nimby councillors and judges to block or overturn permits on the basis of climate targets, absolutist environmental regulation, disproportionate planning and safety rules, and misapplied assertions of human rights. Onshore hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, then is 'banned' in the UK, while the offshore north sea taxes are so high that investors are fleeing Britain. The Government is starting to get the message on getting the state out of the way on nuclear power, but the logic does not extend to fossil fuels. Simply lifting the moratorium would also be insufficient. There needs to be a wholesale shredding of the previous Governments' efforts to try and reassure the public with the 'highest standards in the world', and a ruthless focus on delivery. This means consistent and limited regulation with other industries not special rules to fail to appease implacable opposition. The only signs of anything like that being possible are currently coming from Reform, who have just five MPs, backbench Conservatives, and a few peers. But Reform now are using the same zero risk, pro-regulation tactics as anti-fracking campaigners to attack renewables, which will make building a consensus for serious energy security harder. In short, we should not be optimistic. It may take another horrific spike in energy prices to shake some sense into Parliament. But even last time they thought the solution was higher taxes, and accelerating decarbonisation ambitions, making the problem far worse. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
14-02-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The entire net-zero edifice is crashing to the ground
The UK needs gas. We need it for heat: 85 per cent of UK homes use a gas boiler. We need it for power: around a third of which came from gas generation last year. Roughly half of the 'capacity market' required to back-up unreliable renewables on cold dark windless days comes from 90 gas plants. We need it for industry, with the 'clean power' alternatives still 3-4 times more expensive. The Government's net-zero ambitions don't change this reality, nor will they for at least two decades. Those capacity market plants, for example, are all on 15-year contracts. Homeowners don't want heat pumps, and the data centres required for AI need our energy system to grow, not shrink. The UK and EU tested to destruction in 2022-23 the idea that we can rely on Russia to supply what we need. The price shock, and decision to underwrite prices, helped bring down Truss administration. This year we're seeing even the Norwegians wobble on exports as supporting us is driving up their domestic prices. It is surely a statement of fact, then, that the UK's energy security depends affordable supplies of gas. Yet we have some of the world's most expensive energy, due to over-reliance on imports, and the failure of the alternatives to fossil fuels to live up to their promise to cut bills. So great news, the plucky drillers at Egdon Resources, after years of tests, believe they've found a massive new source of supply, under our feet, in the East Midlands. Noting that early drilling estimates are just that, it is claimed it could generate over £100 billion in revenues, £27 billion in tax, 'thousands of jobs' and reduce 218m tonnes of CO2 emissions by displacing imports. Win, win, win, win. A serious government, cheered on by a serious Parliament, would be bending over backwards to ensure Egdon can 'drill, baby, drill' as soon as possible. Ed Miliband, our Energy Secretary, would be driving 50 miles south from his constituency, hi-vis jacket at the ready, to open the site. Sadly, he's more likely to be standing with the single-issue anti-fracking campaign groups. We are now more than two decades into a Parliamentary consensus that we must either leave gas in the ground, or make it so expensive to extract, that it amounts to the same thing. Net-zero is a moral crusade not a consideration of trade-offs with affordability and security, both of which are far more important to the public. They also find it hard to explain those choices to local residents. Even when the politicians are supportive, the laws they've made allow Nimby councillors and judges to block or overturn permits on the basis of climate targets, absolutist environmental regulation, disproportionate planning and safety rules, and misapplied assertions of human rights. Onshore hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, then is 'banned' in the UK, while the offshore north sea taxes are so high that investors are fleeing Britain. The Government is starting to get the message on getting the state out of the way on nuclear power, but the logic does not extend to fossil fuels. Simply lifting the moratorium would also be insufficient. There needs to be a wholesale shredding of the previous Governments' efforts to try and reassure the public with the 'highest standards in the world', and a ruthless focus on delivery. This means consistent and limited regulation with other industries not special rules to fail to appease implacable opposition. The only signs of anything like that being possible are currently coming from Reform, who have just five MPs, backbench Conservatives, and a few peers. But Reform now are using the same zero risk, pro-regulation tactics as anti-fracking campaigners to attack renewables, which will make building a consensus for serious energy security harder. In short, we should not be optimistic. It may take another horrific spike in energy prices to shake some sense into Parliament. But even last time they thought the solution was higher taxes, and accelerating decarbonisation ambitions, making the problem far worse.
