UK Shale Snail, Not US Shale Gale

摘要

More than two years after UK Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to go "all out for shale," making the country the EU front-runner in attempts to replicate the US shale gas revolution, local planning authorities in northeast England have finally green-lighted proposals for the first tracking operation since a ban was lifted in 2012. Officials from North Yorkshire County Council last week ruled in favor of Third Energy's year-old application to hydraulically fracture an existing gas well in rural Ryedale, although it still needs full government consent. Some pundits have hailed the decision as a "milestone" for the country's fledgling shale sector. But in truth, progress to date has been glacial, paralyzed by misconceptions and public anxiety that the industry has failed to address properly, and anti-fracking campaigners could yet derail any meaningful development.