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London in bed with shale, advocate says

Shale natural gas sector still in its infancy in the United Kingdom.

By Daniel J. Graeber

LONDON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The British Friends of the Earth said Monday it was worried by signs suggesting the government was working "hand-in-glove" with the shale gas industry.

The group, a vocal opponent to the fledgling shale gas sector in the country, published a letter sent in September by the government to the "highly secret and top-level Economic Affairs Committee" on shale developments in Lancashire.

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Cuadrilla Resources estimates there may be as much as 200 trillion cubic feet of shale natural gas in the Bowland basin in Lancashire. Last year, the company deposited what it said was "most comprehensive" environment study of its kind to local leaders assessing its drilling ambitions.

For Friends of the Earth, the letter shows the government was willing to fast-track the permit vetting for Cuadrilla in an effort to move the shale gas industry beyond its infancy.

"This letter shows government and industry working hand-in-glove to try anything to make fracking happen," Friends of the Earth Energy Campaigner Tony Bosworth said in a statement. Lancashire County officials said last week they were considering refusal of Cuadrilla's application because of noise pollution concerns. There were no objections raised at the federal level.

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While the November letter advocates ways to "promote [the] importance of shale to local growth," it also calls for "neutral academic experts" to provide "credible evidence-based views on matters of public concern."

In 2012, the British government new restrictions on hydraulic fracturing, ending a moratorium enforced after minor tremors were reported near Lancashire drilling sites. In mid-January, the British Geological Survey announced plans to conduct live monitoring of shale exploration in Lancashire.

A statement Monday from the British Environment Audit Committee in Parliament, meanwhile, calls for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing to "allow the uncertainty surrounding environmental risks to be fully resolved."

The British government said natural gas from shale deposits would help reduce imports.

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