The first shipment of shale gas has arrived in the UK from the US, heading to the Grangemouth petrochemicals plant that’s owned by Ineos. However, it arrives at a time when fracking is being fiercely debated in the country, with politicians and environmental lobbyists saying that injecting water, chemicals and sand into rock is damaging to the environment.
According to the BBC, 27,500m3 of ethane from shale fields in the US has now arrived, with Ineos saying that access to cheap shale gas from the country will help to revolutionise the economy in Grangemouth. The creation of a chemical manufacturing hub around the existing plant will help to give others a more competitive edge.
In the UK, drilling for shale gas is currently only in an exploratory phase, with the Scottish government having put a moratorium on fracking in the country while a study looking into the potential impact of the process is being carried out.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland show, Ineos founder and chairman Jim Ratcliffe said that the chemicals industry wasn’t perfect and it is inevitable that there will be the occasional environmental issue.
“What I am saying is I don’t think it is any different to the chemical industry – there isn’t a product that you buy or consume that doesn’t require a chemical of one form or another,” he explained.
This comes as shadow energy and climate change secretary Barry Gardiner confirmed that the Labour party would go further than its moratorium on fracking if it came to power, explaining that the party would actually ban the practice.