Fracking banned in UK as election approaches

The UK fracking industry suffered a fatal blow as the Conservative government ended its support for the controversial practice.

The move, just weeks ahead of a general election, effectively bans new wells using hydraulic fracturing technology. Companies from Cuadrilla Resources to Ineos Group had been hoping to exploit reserves trapped in difficult-to-tap shale formations deep underground.

The move underscores the unpopularity of the technique, which involves injecting water and sand into well-bores under high pressure. It also indicates a growing consensus between the main political parties about the need to zero out fossil fuel emissions by the middle of the century to rein in climate change.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s administration acted before campaigning for an General Election starts next week. His Conservative Party is fighting to retain votes in rural areas in northern England where the shale reserves sit.

Cuadrilla had no immediate comment and Ineos’s press office didn’t respond to phone calls or emails outside normal office hours.

The opposition Labour Party said the Conservative government moved too slow in imposing the ban.

“It is over eight years since fracking caused earthquakes near Blackpool,” said Rebecca Long Bailey, the Labour member of Parliament who speaks on business and energy. “The Tories owe the public an apology and an explanation of how much public money they wasted while ignoring the science.”

Ministers decided to implement a ban on new permits for fracking wells after new scientific evidence from the Oil & Gas Authority. The regulator found that it’s not possible to accurately predict the probability and magnitude of earthquakes caused by fracking.

Seismic activity around the two wells currently probing shale formations plagued the practice for years in the UK, prompting ministers to halt work several times.