Rishi deal will bring fracked US gas here

RISHI Sunak is on the brink of a major gas deal with the United States that could help avoid blackouts this winter.

The Prime Minister hopes to reach an agreement with Joe Biden this month that could see the US supply billions of cubic feet of natural gas to Britain in the coming months to help ease the energy crisis triggered by Vladimir Putin.

The deal, which was initiated by Liz Truss, would shore up the UK’s energy supplies and reduce the risk of blackouts, which the National Grid has warned are possible this winter.

Ironically, this would make the UK more reliant on gas produced by fracking, just weeks after Mr Sunak reimposed a ban on the controversial technology in the UK. Around two-thirds of US gas is now produced by hydraulic fracturing, which has turned America back into a net exporter of energy in recent years.

Andy Mayer, energy analyst at the Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank, said exploiting the UK’s vast reserves of shale gas would be more environmentally friendly than importing supplies from the US and would generate huge tax revenues and economic activity.

‘Banning UK fracking while striking deals to import USfracked gas prioritises climate posing over climate action,’ he said. ‘It reduces our energy security, risks higher bills and undermines the public finances.

‘Imported gas, cooled and shipped in vast tankers, has a higher carbon footprint than gas drilled at home.

‘Anti-fracking campaigns are not environmentally sound while we remain reliant on fossil fuels for 75 per cent of our primary energy.’ Downing Street confirmed discussions about a deal were under way but declined to comment on the details.

The PM’s official spokesman said the US was a country where ‘there is more we can do together to tackle energy price spikes’. He added: ‘We are still discussing with the US what the right approach might be.’

One government source said Mr Sunak is likely to discuss the issue with Mr Biden at next week’s G20 summit in Indonesia. The UK is also in talks with both Norway and Qatar about long-term gas supply deals.

Ministers hope the new ‘energy security partnership’ with the US could be sealed as early as this month.

Meanwhile former Cabinet minister Lord Frost also said there was ‘a degree of hypocrisy’ in trying to import more fracked gas while banning its extraction in the UK.

He told GB News: ‘I’m personally in favour of at least trying fracking, to see if we can do that effectively. We need to be responsible for our own security of supply.’

‘Ironic after Sunak’s ban’