Inadequate Regulation of the Geological Aspects of Shale Exploitation in the UK.

ABSTRACT: Unconventional oil and gas exploitation, which has developed in the UK since 2009, is regulated by four main agencies: The Oil and Gas Authority, the Environment Agency, the Health and Safety Executive and local Mineral Planning Authorities (usually county councils). The British Geological Survey only has an advisory role, as have ad hoc expert committees. I firstly define terms, and summarise the remits of the regulators and background history. Fourteen case histories are then discussed, comprising most of the unconventional exploitation to date; these cases demonstrate the failure of regulation of the geological aspects of fracking operations in the UK. The regulators let inadequacies in geological understanding, and even mendacious geological interpretations by the hydrocarbon operators

SUBMITTER: Smythe DK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7579502 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature