First US shale gas imports reach UK

Shale gas arrived in the UK for the first time in late September. The INEOS Insight docked at Grangemouth carrying 27,500 cm of ethane from US shale fields. The Insight is one of eight specially designed Dragon class ships that will form a fleet of the world’s largest ethane-capable carriers.

The first shipment represents the culmination of a $2bn investment by INEOS, including the building of Europe’s largest ethane gas storage tank at Grangemouth. Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman and Founder of INEOS, said: ‘This is a game changer for British manufacturing. Its arrival guarantees the security of thousands of jobs in Scotland and could spark a shale gas revolution in the UK.’

In response to calls by environmentalists for imported fracked gas to be stopped, Gary Smith, GMB Scotland Regional Secretary, said: ‘Hundreds of millions have been invested in Grangemouth. Tens of thousands of jobs depend on the site – calling for imported shale gas to be stopped is campaigning for mass unemployment in central Scotland. Instead of indulging in King Canute stuff, the Greens should be entering in a real world debate about where we get our gas from.’

Meanwhile Allegro Development’s Michael Hinton commented: ‘Drilling for shale gas is only at an exploratory phase in the UK and, in political terms, remains highly controversial. The arrival of US shale to Scottish shores will undoubtedly re-ignite the debate but it’s hard to tell whether public opinion will shift in favour of shale. The truth is, environmentalists and the anti-fracking movement are making much more noise and presenting more anti-shale facts than the pro-fracking minority. The UK government will have to increase its efforts and reassure the public that every possible measure will be taken to prevent environmental damage, and ideally get the devolved Scottish administration on-side. In contrast though, as supplies continue to dwindle from the North Sea reserves market demand will put pressure on pricing which can sway public opinion as well.’

He continued: ‘Nothing is 100% risk free in life. Shale gas has the potential to diversify the UK’s energy mix and minimise our dependence on dominant suppliers. It also promises to boost employment, create investment opportunities and move the UK off the current path to more and more coal consumption. We do not know whether domestic and European shale production can ever have the same impact as in North America but, to find out, exploration needs to be given a chance and start now.’