When is a moratorium not a moratorium? When it doesn't cover 'test' drilling.

When is a moratorium not a moratorium? When it doesn't cover 'test' drilling.

Directions that Scottish Ministers gave to local councils and SEPA in January to give legal effect to the moratorium on 'fracking' require applications for "onshore exploration, appraisal or production of coal bed methane or shale oil and gas using unconventional extraction techniques" to be notified or referred to them for determination. On 8 October, Ministers declared a new moratorium on underground coal gasification and announced that neither moratorium includes drilling "solely for the purpose of core sampling", so local councils and SEPA will determine such applications. Is core sampling not the first stage of exploration?

16 Oct 2015 17:03