A decision on the future of shale extraction in Scotland will not be made for another year, the Scottish Conservative party has claimed.
The SNP introduced a moratorium on unconventional oil and gas recovery at the beginning of 2015.
And today it was announced that a decision on whether it would be allowed in future would be made “by the end of 2017”.
But the Scottish Conservatives claim that the timing has been arranged for political motives – not environmental ones.
The official ‘Talking Fracking’ consultation will not conclude until after the council elections in May.
The Tories have now accused the Scottish Government of having “sat on its hands for three years” while other parts of the UK press on with the technology.
Experts have said shale extraction could provide an economic boost for Scotland, as well as create jobs and secure future supplies.
The Scottish Government commissioned its own research into the topic in order to address “gaps in the evidence base”.
Despite the moratorium on fracking, Scotland currently imports daily shipments of fracked gas from the US to refine at Grangemouth.
Scottish Conservative energy spokesman Alexander Burnett said: “This is another spineless decision by the SNP on the topic of fracking.
“It should be looking at the potential for an economic boom and a more secure supply of power for people in Scotland.
“But instead, it’s pandering to the left of the party because it doesn’t want to lose votes in May’s council elections.
“It is well-established that fracking can be explored safely and sensitively, yet the Scottish Government seems reluctant to even do that.
“And all the while, Scotland risks losing business surrounding the technology south of the border, where the government is altogether more open-minded on this.”
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