MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st October, 2018) The UK government said Wednesday it was considering making pre-application consultations with local communities a must for firms wishing to drill for shale gas.
Interested parties have until early January to submit their views on "whether community pre-application consultation should be compulsory prior to submitting a planning application for shale gas development."
The proposal by the Ministry of Communities and Local Government only covers England and will seek to define what shale gas development should be subject to public discourse.
Fracking companies may be asked to publish relevant information on their operations, open a meaningful dialogue with stakeholders and analyze the feedback in order to speed up decision-making.
Northern England is estimated to hold at least 1,300 trillion cubic feet of gas, enough to supply the entire country's gas needs for 25 years. But the process of shale gas extraction, called fracking, has proven contentious after it was linked to quakes and increased health risks.
