Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser has given his backing to shale gas exploration during a Green Party debate on fracking.
The Scottish Conservative Energy Spokesman referenced last week’s DECC energy opinion survey which showed that more people support fracking than oppose it.
The Mid-Scotland and Fife member also outlined the four main benefits of a domestic shale gas industry which include creating security of supply, generating jobs, reducing energy costs and reducing carbon emissions.
Whilst attacking fracking myths, Murdo revealed that hydraulic fracturing is not a ‘new’ technology as claimed and has been used in Scotland since the 1960s.
Extracts from Murdo Fraser’s speech to parliament:
Firstly, the Green motion refers to “significant public opposition” to new methods of fossil fuel extraction such as fracking and coal bed methane extraction. Certainly there are those in the environmental movement who have been doing their best to whip up such opposition, going round the country pedalling their pseudo-science and their hysterical scare stories about earthquakes, exploding taps, and all the rest.
But when we actually look at public opinion, we see that not everyone is buying this nonsense. According the latest DECC Public Opinion Tracker, published on the 29th of April, more people support shale gas extraction than oppose it, and the numbers are growing. We should remember that there is nothing new about fracking for shale gas and extracting coal seam gas in Scotland. Back in the 1960s in Lanarkshire, and as recently as the 1980s within the boundaries of the City of Glasgow, fracking has taken place, with none of the apocalyptic side effects that some in the environmental movement have predicted.
I believe that there are four key advantages to exploiting our unconventional gas reserves. The first of these is in relation to security of supply. We have gone from being a nation which is a net exporter of gas, to being an importer. As we develop more and more renewable sources of energy, particularly those, like wind, that have an intermittent output, our reliance on gas will actually increase over the medium term.
So the question is not whether or not we will require gas, because it is beyond doubt that we will be increasingly reliant upon it. The question is where will that gas come from? Will it be produced domestically, or will we import it? I certainly do not want to see us in future decades reliant on Mr Putin’s Russia for our gas supplies.
Secondly there is the question of impact on energy prices. It is well known that in the US the development of a shale gas industry has dramatically cut energy costs, and led to the reindustrialisation of the US economy as a result. I do not think anyone reasonably predicts a similar impact here, but increasing the supply of gas is bound to have a beneficial impact on energy prices.
Thirdly, there is the issue of carbon emissions. The US has saved millions of tonnes in carbon by shifting away from burning coal towards burning gas. Gas is certainly a fossil fuel, but it is cleaner than coal, and as we continue to develop low-carbon alternatives must be a better option.
Fourthly, there is the economic opportunity that is presented. There is a potential for tens of thousands of jobs to be created in a new industry, of real benefit to Scotland, and one that is complimentary to the development of more renewables.
Members will recall that last year there was consensus across the Scottish political parties that the Ineos plant in Grangemouth should be saved. I am delighted that it was, with the Scottish and UK Governments working together, and hundreds of jobs safeguarded in Central Scotland. The Ineos plant depends upon shale gas as its raw material, shipping that gas in a fleet of Chinese-built tankers across the Atlantic from Pennsylvania. Unsurprisingly, Ineos are keen to see a domestic supply of shale gas, and on every level that must make more sense.
The UK Government has brought forward incentives for the exploitation of unconventional gas, and it is right to do so, recognising the opportunities presented. I hope that the Scottish Government will follow suit, and see this as a new industry which can be of great benefit to Scotland for future generations.