Fracking unlikely to take place in Dorset, says gas chief

Hopes for a local shale gas-inspired economic boom, and fears of poisoned water supplies and earthquakes are unlikely to be realised according to Mark Abbott, managing director of Egdon Resources Ltd.

The Hampshire-based business holds drilling licences for areas around Dorchester and west of Purbeck.

Mr Abbott said: “We have drilled a number of exploration wells in the areas we have licences and we do not believe they have any potential for shale gas, and we have no plans to carry out hydraulic fracturing.

“In Dorset people exploit the source rock for conventional oil and gas, and the geological conditions aren’t there for fracking to be developed on a large scale.

“Shale gas has the potential to transform the UK energy markets and we are looking at it elsewhere in England, but we don’t see Dorset being involved.”

Four other licences covering Purbeck and Bournemouth and Poole are held by Anglo-French firm Perenco and Norwest Energy of Australia.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves cracking rock formations with a high pressure mixture of water and chemicals to extract valuable gases, including shale gas.

The technology has provoked fears over its environmental impact, and local campaigners have set up Frack Free Dorset to challenge any future fracking applications.

To be permitted, a fracking operation must obtain permission from the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the Environment Agency and planning permission from the local authority.

A spokesman for Frack Free Dorset said: “It doesn’t look like Dorset will be top of the list for fracking in the UK, but the opinions we have heard on its geology are quite varied.

“We want to make people aware of the possibility because we know that in some areas – like West Sussex – where a fracking application has gone in, there has only been a three-week consultation period.

“We want people to have a clear picture of the dangers posed by fracking.”