Good or bad, we must know the facts of fracking
JIM Ratcliffe, boss of Ineos, which owns Grangemouth refinery, has warned that Scotland will never be able to become an independent country unless it embraces fracking – and he reminded the Scottish Government of a £15billion black hole in its public finances.
He said that SNP ministers’ opposition to the process was ‘not a logical objection’ and accused them of ‘hypocrisy’ for welcoming Ineos’s decision to import American shale gas while imposing a moratorium on fracking.
How true, especially when a Government report has already found that fracking can be done safely.
Graeme Blackett has been appointed economic adviser to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s new Growth Commission, set up to tackle the £15billion deficit.
He is in favour of drilling underground coal and turning it into gas – a technique almost identical to fracking – which could boost the economy by £13billion and create up to 12,000 jobs.
How long before Miss Sturgeon has to admit that fracking is safe and will drive the Scots economy? clark cross, linlithgow,
West lothian.
INEOS boss Jim Ratcliffe is trying to dictate to the Scottish Government, and ultimately the people, that we cannot afford independence without his environmentally poisonous ‘fracking’. Just who does he think he is?
The fracking companies have zero investment to show since gaining their licences and all show a net worth that’s in the red by millions.
There will be no 10 per cent (or whatever figure they care to spout) paid back to communities affected by fracking, as what is 10 per cent of nothing? They will cook their books so that any profit disappears into investment elsewhere, or simply vanishes into thin air. So no profit means no payback to communities. And just what figure do they think would compensate for Scotland’s water-tables poisoned for generations to come?
More like Jim should use his experience and business savvy to invest in green energy, an industry which should be having a national drive for excellence backed by serious investment from every source. john mccloskey, north ayrshire
anti-Fracking, millport, cumbrae.