Britain has a duty to exploit its shale gas reserves, says David Cameron. But is fracking the answer to Europe's reliance on cheap Russian gas? With your help, Karl Mathiesen investigates
Join the debate. Post your views in the comments below, email karl.mathiesen.freelance@guardian.co.uk or tweet@karlmathiesen
2.16pm GMT
E3G have produced a document debunking a few shale gas "myths". They say it is true that Europe has significant shale gas reserves. But they argue that these supplies should be left in the ground for four reasons.
Shale gas will not reduce EU energy prices - "Cambridge Econometrics has estimated that to achieve shale gas production levels at a scale to impact on EU gas prices 33,500-67,000 wells would need to be drilled in the EU by 2050. Currently fewer than 100 such wells have been drilled. In addition, there are concerns about the supply chain. It is estimated that as production ramps up, 148-295 rigs a year would be required in 2035. Currently the EU has a rig manufacturing capability of 12-18 per year."
Shale gas will not improve our security of supply - "21 of the EU 28 Member States import gas from Russia. Even under the most optimistic scenarios, shale gas is projected to meet just 10% of European gas demand by 2030. Most commentators agree that 2-3% by 2030 is a more realistic estimate. Therefore, even in the best case scenario, the volumes of EU shale gas production achieved will be too small to meaningfully impact on EU security of supply concerns."
Shale gas cannot help us address climate change - "There are concerns that methane leakages from shale gas extraction may cancel out any CO2 reductions achieved and, even if technology can be developed to contain such leakages, production is not expected to come on stream fast enough or in sufficient quantities to displace coal in the EU power generation mix."
1.23pm GMT
European leaders met last week to discuss the issue of energy security. EU council president Herman van Rompuy said that by 2035 Europe could be importing 80% of its oil and gas.
According to Euractiv, van Rompuy said:
Today we sent a clear signal that Europe is stepping up a gear to reduce energy dependency, especially with Russia, Van Rompuy said. He added that the goal would be pursued by reducing energy demands, through introducing more energy efficiency, by diversifying the EUs supply routes and expanding energy sources, particularly renewables.
1.04pm GMT
Distinction: "Good for the UK" or "Good for the *people of* the UK" ? Not so much the second one perhaps? http://t.co/i1cuKN7KEH
Fracking will be 'good for the UK' I say http://t.co/wacah0JXxr But don't believe me, I said that about George Osborne
Crimea becomes another reason/excuse to ignore climate change. Cameron wants more fracking http://t.co/JPwnDhk5Xj via @reuters
The lesson of Russia using natural gas as political leverage is not that we should produce more of it - it's that we should transition away.
1.01pm GMT
Ken Cronin, chief executive UKOOG, the UK's onshore oil and gas industry body, said:
"The PM is right in that shale gas can put the UK in charge of our own destiny. In addition to the gas needed to heat our homes, keep the lights on and power our businesses, it is nearly impossible to get through a day without using multiple products that contain oil or gas. Shampoo, toothpaste, shaving foam, lipstick, and clothing all contain petroleum products and natural gas is also the raw material for plastics. Many industries use gas not only as an energy source but also as a key component of their manufacturing processes.
"Our gas is increasingly being imported from other countries currently over half comes from overseas and by 2030 that will have risen to 70%. Imports generate very little UK tax revenues and gas producers such as Russia, Algeria or Qatar will sell to the highest bidder. Increasing import dependency puts us at the mercy of not only volatile global energy markets, but both physical and political energy security issues.
1.00pm GMT
The prime minister threw the shale gas industry a bit of a curve ball yesterday by saying:
"By the end of this year, there should be some unconventional gas wells up and running that we can demonstrate, and I think the enthusiasm for it will grow."
Gung ho? Cameron says fracking will start this year. Experts say it will be "the end of the decade". http://t.co/vhvhM1Ju1e via @MailOnline
12.10pm GMT
Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research said in Al Jazeera America on Monday that the numbers don't add up for shale gas.
If the goal is to reduce demand for Russian natural gas, the most cost-effective way is to do much more of what Germany and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the EU is already doing: promote conservation and mass transit and further subsidize the cost of installing solar and wind energy.
Will fracking reduce our dependence on Russian gas? The simple answer is no, and its the industry itself that says so. A study for the oil and gas industry by consultants Pöyry, found that European supplies wouldn't even come on stream at scale for at least a decade. The study also shows that while the EU's dependency on gas imports could be reduced by up to 18% depending on the success of EU shale gas extraction, it is actually supplies of liquefied natural gas from Qatar that would be displaced by shale gas - supplies that are deemed "secure" by energy minister Michael Fallon. Even a shale gas boom will have no impact on Russian imports until after 2030, by which point demand for gas should be falling sharply in the EU as efforts to limit climate change bear fruit.
The same ministers now railing against Europes dependence on Russian gas are the same who, for years, were happy for Britain to be lining the pockets of unsavoury oligarchs in places like Russian and Qatar, instead of moving the country towards clean, home-grown energy. After losing the argument on lower energy bills and job creation, David Cameron and his government are clearly exploiting the Ukraine crisis in the hope of turning fracking into a national security issue to drown out any criticism.
Speeding up fracking is the wrong response to the Ukraine crisis. Shale gas won't deliver until the 2020s at the earliest; is very unlikely to cut energy bills; and it's another climate-changing fossil fuel.
If the Prime Minister wants to speed up energy solutions he should get on with cutting energy waste from our heat-leaking homes and developing the UKs vast renewable energy potential from the wind, sun and sea."
Sweden gets 51% of its overall energy from renewables, so international market shocks will have much less of an impact on their energy prices.
Renewable energy gives energy security by definition it doesnt run out and the resources are within our control. Several technologies dont even require fuel inputs (solar, wind, hydro, marine, geothermal, etc.) and those that do (biomass and biofuel feedstocks), we can buy it from trusted trade partners such as the USA and our EU neighbours.
11.52am GMT
In the US, the shale industry has been agitating for new access to EU markets. They have identified Europe's dependence on Russian gas as an opportuinity to expland their market.
According to Reuters, German chancellor Angela Merkel last week said she supported asking US president Barack Obama to relax restrictions on exports of U.S. gas. One mechanism for this would be the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which would be the world's largest free trade deal.
But while calls for such a Berlin-airlift-style approach to rush American natural gas to Europe and liberate it from the Russians makes for a good political sound bite, such a move isnt practical and vastly oversimplifies the issue. It would take years to build the necessary facilities on both sides of the Atlantic for shipping and receiving the liquefied natural gas. The countries most reliant on Russian energy, including Ukraine, have no terminals for receiving LNG tankers. They get their natural gas from pipelines.
The potential in the short term is nothing, said Edward Chow, an energy and security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"The fossil fuel industry and its shills are willing to exploit any crisis and go to any lengths in their effort to extract more dirty fuels and dismantle critical climate policies. Rather than promoting dirty fossil fuels like tar sands and fracked natural gas, Obama and [EC president José Manuel] Barroso should be doing everything they can to keep these fuels in the ground and help avert climate catastrophe."
11.34am GMT
Thanks to commenter SteB1, who pointed out Terry Macalister's report earlier this month on government plans to build a nuclear power plant in the UK with a state-owned Russian company. Macalister says "the dependence side of the argument against Russia is very limited".
"Clearly there is something jarring about the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) boasting about its positive negotiations with the Russians over building a nuclear power station in Britain just as a summit is due to begin in London about what sanctions can be taken against Moscow over its involvement in the Crimea.
"If Vladimir Putin is threatening to once again use energy as a political weapon in the Ukraine by cutting off the country's gas exports, then this is a bad moment to talk about state-owned Rosatom taking a critical stake in UK power infrastructure through the construction of an atomic plant.
11.26am GMT
Yesterday, energy secretary Ed Davey was pushing the renewables handcart, using Russia and the Crimea as added justification for the growth of offshore wind farms, my colleague Terry Macalister reported.
"[Windfarms] are not just the local providers of green energy we need for our low-carbon future, but play an important role at a time of international uncertainty that we see with now Russia and Crimea," he explained.
11.17am GMT
The answer is: quite. Around 30% of Europe's gas comes from Russia and natural gas makes up 18.8% of the continent's primary energy supply. But a report by consulting firm Pöyry for Europe's oil and gas industry shows the reliance on Russian gas will increase to 50% by 2050 regardless of whether shale gas is part of the mix or not.
Shale gas alone will not stop reliance on Russian imports. Credit: Pöyry pic.twitter.com/zg5cvKBfTP
Even in 'shale boom scenario'. Russia would still supply more gas than shale. Credit: Pöyry pic.twitter.com/SpW5bIcfYa
10.12am GMT
David Cameron is just one in a long line of Tories who have been pushing fracking in the wake of Russia's annexation of the Crimea.
ConservativeHome commentator Garvan Walshe wrote earlier this month that one of Cameron's top ten responses to the crisis should be to "Get Fracking". With no mention of energy independence, Walshe said the government should:
Speed up the process for shale oil and gas drilling, and head off opposition by diverting a sizeable proportion of royalties from fracking to the communities and individuals in which wells are drilled.
"Completing the energy single market, making sure there are better interconnectors, making sure there are two-way flows of gas, better storage. This is really good work that's going to be done...
"So I think it's a good opportunity. Energy independence, using all these different sources of energy, should be a tier-one political issue from now on, rather than tier five...
9.58am GMT
Reuters said last night that Cameron had made energy independence a priority for Europe:
Energy independence and the adoption of technologies like shale gas fracking should top Europe's political agenda, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday, calling the Crimea crisis a "wake-up call" for states reliant on Russian gas.
Britain has a "duty" to embrace fracking in the wake of the Ukraine crisis, David Cameron has said, as he accused opponents of shale gas exploration of not "understanding" the issue properly.
Britain has a duty to step up fracking to reduce dependence on gas from Russia, the Prime Minister said yesterday.
Officially the UK imports less than 1 per cent of its gas from Russia. But Moscow-owned firm Gazprom claims it could be as high as 15 per cent indirectly, as Britains buys gas from other European countries such as Germany at peak times, which originates from Russia.
9.33am GMT
Europe's shale gas advocates say the Ukraine crisis highlights the need to develop indigenous energy sources, weaning the continent off Russia's huge reserves of natural gas. In the UK, Tory politicians have been queuing up push the shale gas agenda. Yesterday prime minister David Cameron entered the fray, saying fracking would be "good for our country" and that pursuing its reserves was Britain's "duty".
Speaking to reporters after a nuclear security summit in Brussels, Cameron said:
"I think something positive should come out of [the situation in Ukraine] for Europe which is to take a long hard look at its energy resilience, and its energy independence. And I hope it will lead to some really useful work being done.
"Britain is not reliant on Russian gas to any extent, it's just a few percentage points of our gas intake. But the variety around Europe is very, very wide. Some countries are almost 100% reliant on Russian gas so I think it is something of a wake-up call and I think action will be taken."