Senior executives at Ineos have claimed Scotland’s economic fortunes could be transformed by fracking with new estimates suggesting it could be capable of producing more has than has been found in the North Sea.
Tom Crotty, director of corporate affairs at Ineos said while it was not yet know how much is extractable, examples from one fracking field in western Pennsylvania currently produce two and a half times the UK’s daily consumption.
According to reports in The Times, Crotty said the prospects are “enormous”.
Earlier this week North Yorkshire County Council agreed to allow fracking by Third Energy to take place in Ryedale despite fierce opposition by nearby residents.
Scottish Ministers have said they are waiting for more research to be carried out before they reach a decision.
Crotty said research which had been carried out in the UK and US had long concluded fracking was safe and fears it would cause earth tremors or pollute water sources were exaggerated.
He said: “We are aware of the view that all the research has been peer reviewed and provided its properly managed, fracking is far safer than coal mining ever was.
“We should not waste anymore time on it – time is a luxury we don’t have. We need a decision to shore up energy security and to meet our balance of payments needs.”
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