Total has become the first Western oil major to invest in UK shale gas, taking a 40% stake in two licenses that contain the prospective Bowland shale in northern England in return for funding a work program of up to $46.5 million, the company announced Monday. The same day UK Prime Minister David Cameron promised a business rates windfall. Local councils that approve shale gas developments will retain 100% of rates they take from such projects--up from 50% now. The commitment could be worth up to ￡1.7 million ($3 million) a year for a typical site, on top of community benefits announced by the industry itself last summer (IOD Jun.28'13).
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