‘Modest’ amount of shale gas and oil in Scotland

There is a “modest” amount of shale gas and oil in the Midland Valley in Scotland, according to the latest report by the British Geological Survey (BGS).

The central estimate from the BGS is that there are 80 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in place, and 6 billion barrels of oil.

This compares to 1,300 trillion cubic feet of gas and 4.4 billion barrels of oil in the Bowland shale and in the Weald Basin respectively.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) said the amount that could be extracted is “expected to be substantially lower”, and added the estimates are “uncertain” because there is less data available for that area.

Professor Mike Stephenson, director of science and technology at the BGS said more test drilling was needed to help improve the accuracy of the estimates.

He said: “The Midland Valley of Scotland has complex geology and a relative lack of data compared to the previous Decc-BGS Bowland-Hodder and Weald Basin studies.”

Energy minister Michael Fallon said that while shale gas alone won’t solely meet the UK’s energy needs, “the environmentally responsible exploration of shale gas could contribute to our energy mix”.

He added: “Only the broad shoulders of the United Kingdom can attract investment in new energy sources and maintain the UK’s position as one of the world’s great energy hubs – generating energy and generating jobs.”

Ken Cronin, chief executive of UK Onshore Operators Group, said: “This report will give reassurance to investors who wish to explore for oil and gas onshore in Scotland and adds to the estimates of significant onshore resources which can help replace the UK’s growing dependency on imports and balance the decline of the North Sea.

“The oil and gas industry has been operating in Scotland since the 19th century and looks forward to continuing to operate safely and with the minimum of environmental impact or many decades to come.”