I think fracking was a subject on here a while back but it seems an appropriate time to revisit it. I happened to listen to one on the business channels before breakfast in a hotel this morning. Some of the key points on their debate on oil / energy prices included:

There is a reasonable chance that global energy prices could fall significantly in the next few years and if they do they would make fracking uneconomic.

That fracking doesn't create many jobs.

Now in complete contrast Calamity Cameron tells us it'd create 74,000 jobs, is a necessity and will dramatically reduce energy prices. On the latter point the UK's gas supplies get put into a supra-national pool and so any savings to UK customers is likely to be marginal. To contribute significantly towards UK energy needs (there is talk of self-sufficency from fracking alone) would require several thousand wells running simultaneously. What would that do to our small country?

So, is Mr Cameron giving the real story? Or is he more interested in giving away more of our assets? First the crazy deal with France and China over a couple of nuclear power stations, then giving contracts to a Chinese electronic company whohose equipment has allegedly been used by the Chinese government to spy on our government machinery and now a fracking deal with Total of France.

Desperate imebeciles wrecking the country's future or far-sighted leaders?

I think that sums the 'tories up perfectly.

I also think ('think' being key, here) if the inhabitants of this fine country put as much effort into caring about this, than they did with Mark Duggan - we would have a justifiable reason for going ape sh[ii[/it at the Government's expense.

You only need one question to answer - if we let fracking take place unhindered across this land (not that "we" have any choice in the matter for "we" do not issue the licences and cash incentives), then does anyone truly believe that our energy prices will fall by up to 48% (a figure I heard quoted yesterday) ?

There is another question of stories rlfrom the US that suggest that, at the least, there should be doubtsrl.

Agreed.

I wouldn't rule out fracking completely, but it seems that we do not know anything like enough, and the ramifications could be disastrous.

I can't get enough of it, solely for the fact that Outraged Of Cheltenham, resplendent in tweed jacket, shouting "I will absolutley not stand for anyone fracking in my back yard" on the telly, will never cease to be funny.

I have it on good authority that any reduction in gas prices will be cancelled out by increases in household insurance to cover subsidence claims.
lol

rlhttps://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/34b5dad6-3261-11e3-b3a7-00144feab7de.htmlrl

Banned in France.

And Bulgaria.
I suppose that is what has caused all the recent concerns over thousands of Bulgarian frackers coming over here and stealing our fracking jobs.
Farage will be livid.

What !!! Their frackers are fracking over here?? If any French Frackers come that'll be the last straw.

Correct me if I mis-heard this on the news this morning but I'm sure I heard someone say that any gas collected in the UK would be pooled and sold on the open market so in theory companies like Total, a French company banned from fracking in their own country could extract fracked gas here and then sell it in France.

Which isn't quite the same as Cameron promising that it will solve all of our domestic fuel supply problems for the next generation AND make our gas bills cheaper.

I think claims of it dramatically reducing energy prices have vanished from his rhetoric for exactly the reason you state, the UK's gas supplies get put into a supra-national pool which means we pay whatever the marker rate is. Unlike in the USA where "fracked" gas drove costs down.



The deal on nuclear power reactors at Hinkley is ridiculous. They agreed to let the companies involved sell electricity generated there to the grid starting at over £92.50 for every megawatt hour generated indexed linked making it rise to £121 by 2023. Gas will have to increase in price by 130% to make this a competitive deal. It's been called "insane" by City Analysts.

As prices fall, rlwho will pay to cap the deserted wells?rl

Local rate-payers I'd guess, as the proposal is to give local authorities a magnificent 1% of revenues (which they'll find hard to turn down after they have been starved of funding) in return for destroying thair locale.