LONDON, July 25 (UPI) -- An environmental group in London said Thursday it was working to block hydraulic fracturing campaigns planned by energy company Cuadrilla Resources.
Protesters in southeast Great Britain managed Thursday to block Cuadrilla from bringing equipment in for drilling operations there, The Guardian newspaper reported.
Cuadrilla started bringing equipment into the area with the goal of starting drilling operations during the weekend. Around a dozen protesters wrapped crime-scene tape around a shipment vehicle, unfurling a banner that read "no more dirty energy," the newspaper reported.
Brenda Pollak, a regional director from advocacy group Friends of Earth, said in a statement Tuesday drilling in the region came with too many environmental risks.
"Shale gas and oil are not the solution to our energy challenges," she said. "They threaten local communities, pollute our atmosphere and there's plenty of evidence they won't bring down fuel prices."
A British government report said Friday shale could ensure energy security for a country where net natural gas imports are on pace to increase from 45 percent of demand in 2011 to 76 percent by 2030.
The government said it would offer a tax break on profits from shale production. Energy companies IGas and Cuadrilla are frontier players in the emerging industry, though there has been no commercial shale natural gas yet produced in Britain.
