Energy shortfall

In response to your report about Professor Roy Thompson of Edinburgh University’s claims that onshore oil & gas exploitation is ‘barely economically feasible’ in the UK, I should like to make the following rejoinder.

An analysis of 25 shale gas systems in the U.S. isn’t a good

basis for sweeping assertions about Scotland. Professor Thompson has suggested the total organic carbon (TOC), one of the determining factors in hydrocarbon viability, for Scottish shale is 2 per cent. If he had referred to the British Geological Survey 2014 report on Scottish shale gas he would have seen that Scottish deposits in the West Lothian Oilshale area have a significant number of deposits between 7 and 30 per cent and that there are a significant net thicknesses of shale with TOC contents well over the 2 per cent TOC.

Where we as an industry and Professor Thompson agree is the UK faces a future of growing gas imports. Today, 50 per centofourgascomesfromoutside the UK - a significant turnaroundfrom17yearsagowhen we were a gas exporter. This is set to rise to 80 per cent in the next 17 years and has massive implications, both economically and environmentally.

Oil and gas history is littered with stories of ‘it’s not going to happen because…’ and we have often been surprised. The imperative to actually find out what is below our feet is what drives our industry.

KEN CRONIN UK Onshore Oil and Gas, London