The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Controversy as US shale gas shipped in
Process by which the gas is obtained continues to divide opinion
The first shipment of US shale gas will arrive in Scotland today amid fierce debate about the future of fracking in the UK.
A tanker carrying 27,500 m3 of ethane from US shale fields is due to dock at Grangemouth, the refinery and petrochemicals plant owned by global chemical giant Ineos.
The company said the shipment aboard carrier Ineos Insight was the culmination of a $2 billion (£1.6bn) investment resulting in eight tankers forming a “virtual pipeline” between the US and the UK and Norway.
Ineos says the shale gas will replace dwindling North Sea supplies and secure raw material for Grangemouth, supporting thousands of jobs.
Jim Ratcliffe, Ineos founder and chairman, said: This is a hugely important day for Ineos and the UK.
“Shale gas can help stop the decline of British manufacturing.”
With the UK Labour Party following Scottish Labour in backing a ban on fracking for indigenous shale resources if it wins the next general election, the technique remains controversial on both sides of the border.
A Scottish Government moratorium on the practice remains in place, in contrast to the pro-fracking stance of the UK Government.
Environmental group Friends of the Earth has stepped up their opposition to fracking ahead of the shipment’s arrival, highlighting the negative experience of residents of Pennsylvania, where almost 10,000 gas wells have been drilled.