The Government of the United Kingdom last week announced it was ending support for the use of hydraulic fracturing technology to extract oil and gas from shale deposits. The decision was based on a new report by the UK Oil and Gas Authority, released November 2, which concluded “that it is not currently possible to accurately predict the probability or magnitude of earthquakes linked to fracking operations.” Continuing, the UK Government announced that “exploratory work to determine whether shale could be a new domestic energy source, delivering benefits for our economy and energy security, has now been paused – unless and until further evidence is provided that it can be carried out safely here.”
The UK action is relevant to the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline because the gas that would travel through that pipeline, as well as the Mountain Valley Pipeline, would be extracted by fracking from West Virginia shale deposits.