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Election in the near future? You would never have guessed! With just 15 weeks to go to May 7th SNP and Labour in Scotland have fought to outdo each other to see who can kick the issue of fracking deeper into the long grass.
This week’s announcement of a fracking moratorium was no surprise and it’s not the first time the Scottish Government has tried to bury the issue. Last July the Government’s Expert Scientific Panel’s report argued that “There could be positive economic impacts from the development of an unconventional oil & gas industry, in terms of jobs created, taxes paid and gross value added”.
Recognising public concerns over the process the report said ”Many of these social (and environmental) impacts can be mitigated if they are carefully considered at the planning application stage”.
However just seven weeks short of the referendum Energy Minister Fergus Ewing moved swiftly to set up a working group to consider the Expert Panel’s findings in more detail “and to ensure regulation of this industry is completely robust”.
And since the next Holyrood election is only just over a year away, the extensive public consultation that has been announced will no doubt be programmed not to report too early.
Does the delay matter? The short answer is yes. Since the Referendum the oil price slump has led to a shakeout of North Sea jobs. Economists reckon some 35,000 people of those employed in oil (some 10%) could find their job at risk.
And hopes of new employment in the offshore wave and tidal sector now look extremely optimistic. Pelamis is in administration and Aquamarine has shed 50% of its staff leading Rob Gibson MSP, speaking at January’s Parliamentary Scottish Renewables reception, to say that work on wave and tidal projects were back in the R&D stage.
And where does the Government’s moratorium leave Ineos’s proposed investment in Grangemouth? The company have previously emphasised the importance of fracking to its business and the 1,300 jobs that rely on it. They have plans to invest more than £600m in UK exploration and £400m to bring US shale gas to Scotland. How long can they wait for a positive decision?
A public inquiry has already been held in Falkirk over Dart Energy’s plans to drill 22 wells at Airth, near Falkirk, for coal bed methane and the matter has been with Ministers for some time. The applications will now be put on hold.
As Michael Caine would say “Not a lot of people know this”, but Scotland was once home to a thriving shale oil industry. Indeed the very first oil refinery anywhere in the world was located just outside Bathgate. The industry lasted for over a century and the shale bings in West Lothian are a reminder what was once a thriving industry.
It may be some time before we know if Scotland will go back to the future!