‘This is the death knell for fracking in Wales’ ...but firm says new licence ban won’t halt those already issued

THE decision to halt any new fracking sites in Wales will soon see the country “frack free”, environmentalists have said.

Last Friday, the UK Government confirmed they will not be issuing any new licences for onshore oil and gas projects in Wales.

An agreement between Westminster and the Welsh Government means no Welsh plots of land are in the licensing round.

The move means no new sites will be allowed until powers over fracking are devolved to the Welsh Government which will happen when the Wales Bill is finally passed.

Campaigners have said this means Wales will become “frack free” as the Welsh Government has already taken steps to restrict the drilling.

Gareth Clubb, director of Friends of the Earth Cymru said: “This decision is the death knell for fracking in Wales.

“The Welsh Government has stated that it is totally opposed to fracking and has enacted a moratorium.

“Now we know the Welsh Government has full authority for issuing licences and we take it as read that no new licences will be issued. But to put this issue to rest, the Welsh Government needs to ban fracking once and for all.

Currently companies who want to drill for oil and gas have to place a bid with the UK Government for a PEDL licence for plots of land which come in 10 square km plots.

That then gives them exclusive rights to the land so they can apply for permission from local authorities to start drilling.

But this announcement puts a halt on all new sites being opened in Wales after the Welsh Government asked the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to leave them off the list.

First Minister Carwyn Jones welcomed the news as a “step in the right direction” for the devolution process.

Lib Dem AM Aled Roberts welcomed the DECC announcement, saying: “I’m glad that Wales will soon become frack-free.

“The Welsh Lib Dems have consistently stood against fracking; every pound and every minute we spend exploiting new fossil fuel sources could instead be spent developing renewable technologies, getting closer to the Welsh Lib Dem goal of all our energy coming from low-carbon or renewable sources.”

Pippa Bartolotti, leader of the Welsh Green Party said it was a “historic opportunity” for the Welsh Government. ”She said: “The Wales Government has an historic opportunity to end our addiction to dirty fossil fuels and invest in the magnificent array of renewable energy available to all our communities.

“The obvious future is green energy, but every past experience shows us just how hard we must fight for this.”

North Wales Plaid AM Llyr Gruffydd, who has pushed for a ban on fracking in Wales, said: “I have pressed both DECC and the Welsh Government to uphold a moratorium on fracking in Wales and this decision appears to reflect the strength of popular opinion in Wales.”

But a spokesperson for IGas, who currently have around eight sites including land at Borras in Wrexham – the site of major protests – approved by the UK Government for fracking in Wales, told our sister paper the Daily Post the announcement didn’t affect the sites already given exclusive rights in past licensing rounds.

He said: “The licence does not give us any permissions, it gives us exclusive rights to apply to explore.”