Open Briefing - CCO on Dart Energy UK Shale Strategy. Shale gas rush: the fracking companies hoping to strike it rich | Environment. It may not have the romance of the 49ers or the glamour of Dallas. But the Great UK Shale Gas rush of 2013 has all the features of a modern gold rush – small players risking their investors' money and hoping that they will be the ones to strike it rich. In October, the chancellor threw his weight behind the rush, saying he wanted to "[open] up the newly discovered shale gas reserves beneath our land" and promising that the government would consult "on a generous new tax regime for shale so that Britain is not left behind as gas prices tumble on the other side of the Atlantic".
The big oil and gas companies have been notably less enthusiastic about shale gas – at least in public. The British Gas boss Sam Laidlaw and Christof Ruhl, the chief economist of BP, have both separately played down the potential in the UK, describing it as not a "game-changer". So far, the UK's nascent shale gas industry has just one big player – Cuadrilla Resources, which was formed in 2007.
CH_Shale_Aug_2012. CH_2010_The 'Shale Gas Revolution': Hype and Reality. Fracking has conquered the US. But here's why it can't happen in Britain. French oil giant Total to invest in UK shale gas. 13 January 2014Last updated at 02:30 ET How fracking recovers natural gas from shale French oil and gas company Total will invest at least $21m (£12.7m) in the UK's shale gas industry. UK energy firm IGas Energy said it had agreed a deal to hand Total a 40% interest in two shale gas exploration licences in Lincolnshire. The investment makes Total the first of the so-called "oil majors" to invest in shale gas in the UK.
Total will pay $1.6m in back costs and fund a work programme of up to $46.5m, with a $19.5m minimum commitment. "The entry of the first major into UK shale gas licences is a further endorsement of the potential that exits... and demonstrates strong support for our operating capability," said IGas Energy chief executive Andrew Austin.
Pressure Total's senior vice president for Northern Europe Patrice de Vivies said the deal marked an "important milestone" in a "promising onshore play". But the process to extract shale gas - called "fracking" - has proved controversial. Analysis.
Cameron pledges cash for communities to ease path for UK fracking. Shale gas is no silver bullet for EU energy market. UK-Shale-Gas.