U.K. Shale Gas Advocate Quits, Citing ‘De Facto’ Fracking Ban
- Natascha Engel resigns after taking up the role in October
- Industry development an ‘almost impossible task,’ Engel says
Workers prepare to take a core sample and examine where to drill the horizontal well it intends to frack, near Blackpool, U.K.
Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.K.’s commissioner for shale gas, an advocate for the public, has quit after six months, saying government policies and strict rules on hydraulic fracturing are stunting activity.
“Developing a shale gas industry in the U.K. will be an almost impossible task” without a policy change, Natascha Engel wrote in a to Business Minister Greg Clark released Sunday. “A perfectly viable industry is wasted because of a government policy driven by an environmental lobbying agenda rather than science, evidence and a desire to see U.K. industry to flourish.”