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For Immediate Release
Press Release February 8th 2022: 


BREAKING NEWS - Northern Ireland Set to Ban Fracking and all Onshore Petroleum Exploration

- A major victory for the entire anti-fracking movement worldwide as political consensus makes the entire Island of Ireland a Frack-Free Zone with all current petroleum licence applications (by EHA and Tamboran) effectively suspended with immediate effect following the defacto moratorium now in place in Northern Ireland.
 


There is delight worldwide with the news breaking that In the Northern Ireland Assembly today, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Minister for the Department of the Economy, Gordon Lyons, announced a major policy shift in Energy Policy by not only supporting a ban on fracking but in proposing an outright ban on all onshore oil and gas exploration.

Minister Lyons announced the policy shift during an Assembly debate on a bill to ban onshore fracking.




DUP Minister announcing ban on fracking and drilling in Northern Ireland - February 8th, 2022


On October 13th, 2020 the DUP Minister Dodds had abstained from  the unaniously-passed motion in the Assembly which stated.

 

That this Assembly recognises the moratoria, in various forms,on fracking in England, Scotland and Wales and the ban on fracking in the Republic of Ireland; notes that this motion builds on the 2015 strategic planning policy statement presumption against the exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbon extraction in Northern Ireland; acknowledges its responsibility to protect public health and the environment; and calls on the Executive to instigate an immediate moratorium on petroleum licensing for all exploration for, drilling for and extraction of hydrocarbons until legislation is brought forward that bans all exploration for, drilling for and extraction of hydrocarbons in Northern Ireland.” 


Minister Dodds announced at the time a review of petorleum licensing policy which she stated must be completed before any decisions were made.Today, her successor,  Minister Lyons, announced the completion of that review which will be that his Department will propose to the Executive a total ban on all onshore oil and gas exploration in Northern Ireland.

Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly today, Minister Lyons stated:

"As it is a cross-cutting and controversial policy area, on 31 January, I circulated a paper to Executive colleagues outlining the position not just on fracking but on all onshore petroleum licensing activity. My paper recommended that the Executive agree a preferred policy option of a moratorium on all forms of exploration and extraction of oil and gas, to be followed by the introduction of a legislative ban. That would not only bring Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the United Kingdom on the issue of fracking but go further by legislating for all other types of petroleum exploration or extraction. The position of my party is, therefore, clear, now and in any future Executive. Of course, my proposed way forward will now require the agreement of a future Executive, and, following that, the preferred option will be subject to public consultation"

going on to state:

"I hope that I made my position clear when I said that I did not believe that there would be any issue getting agreement at the Executive on what I was bringing forward. I recognise that petroleum exploration and hydraulic fracturing in particular is an emotive subject."

Expanding on the reasoning behind his decision, Minister Lyons stated:

"My paper also recommended my preferred option of introducing a moratorium and eventual legislative ban on all forms of onshore petroleum exploration and production. That was based on a number of factors. First, a moratorium and ban on all forms of onshore petroleum exploration and production would not disadvantage the local economy. As I said, in the last 50 years, there has been no commercial production of oil or gas in Northern Ireland. Hence there is no reliance on the sector. Specifically, the Hatch Regeneris research concluded that the potential positive economic impacts of petroleum exploration and production would be relatively minor. The preferred option would therefore ensure a focus on the growth of the low-carbon renewable energy sector, which would use a secure indigenous resource and support people into secure, well-paid jobs. Secondly, a moratorium and ban on all forms of onshore petroleum exploration and production would remove the possibility of potential adverse societal and environmental impacts on local communities and the rural environment, as no further exploration or development would be permitted."


The Minister concluded:

"I recognise that petroleum exploration and hydraulic fracturing in particular is an emotive subject. [...] I based my decision on the economic and societal impacts that hydraulic fracking and petroleum licensing may have in Northern Ireland".


There is no doubt whatsoever that this is a major victory for the entire anti-fracking movement worldwide. Minister Lyons did, however, point out that this was not a win on climate grounds when he stated:

"I do not want to be hypocritical or say that this will be a win on climate change, because we will certainly have to continue to depend on fossil fuels for some time. We are being dishonest with the public, and with ourselves, if we say that we will not have any need for fossil fuels in the short term. As of 15 minutes ago, 45% of our own electricity was generated from fossil fuels. We have to be honest and recognise that fossil fuels will continue to play a necessary role as part of our fuel supply. Let me make it clear, however: I want us to head as quickly as we can towards renewables".

The move by DUP Minister Lyons was the final hurdle in a battle going on for years by campaigners for a ban on fracking in Northern Ireland. It has become clearer over the years that the only way to stop fracking in Northern Ireland was to have an outright ban on all petroleum licensing because of the oil and gas lobby's consistent undermining of the definition of fracking in order to find loopholes around the legislation.

EHA and Tamboran License Applcations in Stalemate

The two current petroleum licence applications by EHA and Tamboran cannot now move forward.  Minister Lyons confirmed:

"that decisions on both licence applications will be made by an Executive as a whole following the agreement of Northern Ireland's future petroleum licensing policy, informed by my Department's policy review. I reiterate that commitment today and sincerely hope that those responsible for the misinformation on social media are listening".

The Department also previously concluded in 2019 that

"In the absence of a Minister and having previously considered the public interest test requirements under the Executive Formation & Exercise of Function Act 2018 (EFEFA), the Department concluded that given it is both controversial and cross-cutting, any decision on the award of a petroleum licence could not be taken by civil servants. This has in effect created a moratorium on decisions on new petroleum licence applications in Northern Ireland at this time" .

Flaws in the Current Bill

The bill being proposed by Sinn Féin that was being debated in its second stage in the Assembly was the Onshore Fracking (Prohibition) Bill. It had one major flaw in that its definition of fracking in Northern Ireland differed greatly from the definition of fracking in the Southern "Petroleum and Other Minerals Development (Prohibition of Onshore Hydraulic Fracturing) Act 2017" which defined hydraulic fracturing  as "the generation of mechanical fractures in rock below the surface by means of the physical process of pumping fluid at high pressure into the rock via a petroleum wellbore for the purpose of enhancing the flow of petroleum between the rock and petroleum wellbore" - defining "petroleum wellbore" as "a boring or other excavation in the earth’s crust made for the purpose of searching for or extracting petroleum".

The current Bill being proposed in Northern Ireland defined "hydraulic fracturing" as "the generation of mechanical features in shale or strata encased in shale by means of the physical process of pumping fluid at high pressure, which is carried out in connection with the use of a well to search or bore for or get petroleum".

The UK definition of "Associated Hydraulic Fracturing"  is  

"hydraulic fracturing of shale or strata encased in shale which (a) is carried out in connection with the use of the relevant well to search or bore for or get petroleum, and  (b) involves, or is expected to involve, the injection of -  (i)  more than 1,000 cubic metres of fluid at each stage, or expected stage, of the hydraulic fracturing, or  (ii)more than 10,000 cubic metres of fluid in total"..


In other words, the Northern Bill proposed by Sinn Féin was only covering fracking of shale rock with no mention of volume, whereas the Southern Act covered all fracking below the surface and the UK Act covers High Volume fracking. This was a loophole which the anti-fracking activists said was leaving the door open for a gas industry in Northern Ireand that would allow certain types of fracking. More importantly for Sinn Féin, it would represent a divergence of the definition of fracking on the island of Ireland. Minister Lyons equally stated that this definition was also a divergence from the UK definition when he stated:

"The Bill is very limited, as it deals with just one of a number of potential oil and gas extraction techniques — hydraulic fracturing. As I set out earlier, that technique is used to extract hydrocarbons from non-porous shale rocks. In Northern Ireland, such rocks are located largely in the Fermanagh area. The enactment of the Bill would not, however, address future petroleum exploration or production activities by any other means in Fermanagh or in other areas of Northern Ireland. Perhaps that is the Sinn Féin position, but it is not mine. The Bill also includes a limited definition of hydraulic fracturing. Unlike the definition in the Petroleum Act 1998, which covers the rest of the United Kingdom, it does not define highvolume hydraulic fracturing by the large volumes of water used. Other types of fracturing with much lower volumes of water are used for purposes other than extracting shale gas: for example, as I said earlier, water boreholes may be fractured to increase their yield. That type of fracturing is different from the process involved in shale gas exploration and production. Therefore, the Bill needs careful scrutiny to ensure that it does not have unintended consequences."

It is clear to us that the only way to stop fracking in Northern Ireland is to ban all petroleum licensing because the oil and gas lobby could run rings around politiicans who were liable to leave certain types of fracking permitted - as this bill was going to do.  That is a question for Sinn Féin to adress - were they intentionally facilitating this scenario, or were they badly advised by the oil and gas lobby or others? While activists were delighted with a bill to ban fracking in Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin should have known better. But Sinn Féin would not share the wording of their bill with the affected community at the consultation stage. Sinn Féin only shared its legislative proposal with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. The activisits in the affected communities highlighted these loopholes (and other issues with the consutation)  once the bill was published and still Sinn Féin refused to make any amendments such as including, what the DUP Minister is now proposing, a ban on petroleum licensing in Northern Ireland in order to ban fracking and as per the wording of the unanimously passed motion of October 13th 2020. The Sinn Féin MLA who was proposing the bill, Áine Murphy did, however, positively offer a consentual approach when she stated:

"I am absolutely committed to working with any and all Members, the Economy Committee and the Bill Office and to following the correct legislative processes to ensure that the Bill can be as robust as possible. I am open to Committee scrutiny of it"

Minister Lyons summed up the argument very clearly when he pointed out that the current bill as proposed would not prevent the two current petroleum licensing applications by EHA and Tamboran when he said:

"neither of the two existing applications currently propose the application of high-volume hydraulic fracturing."

which would not be covered by the Northern Bill proposed by Sinn Féin. This is the major flaw in the Bill.

The SDLP

The other nationalist party in the Northern Ireland Executive (the SDLP) was also signalled out for mention by Minister Lyons. Minister Lyons stated:

"As it is a cross-cutting and controversial policy area, on 31 January, I circulated a paper to Executive colleagues outlining the position not just on fracking but on all onshore petroleum licensing activity. My paper recommended that the Executive agree a preferred policy option of a moratorium on all forms of exploration and extraction of oil and gas, to be followed by the introduction of a legislative ban.[...] To date, only the Finance Minister has responded to my paper. The Ministers from the SDLP, the Alliance Party and the UUP have not responded. The question for those other parties to answer is why they did not respond."

The SDLP Minister, Nichola Mallon, is still the focus of a conflict of interest controversy.  Her husband Brendan Scott was, none other than the "public liaison officer" and "community engagement manager" for  EHA Exploration Limited, one of the two fracking companies which, along with Tamboran, is awaiting a decision from his wife, Nichola Mallon, and the other Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive (Cabinet) on petroleum policy and a petroleum licence application worth millions of pounds to EHA.
It is interesting that Minister Lyons would ask her party why it did not respond to his January 31st paper to Executive colleagues, especially since this happened before the resignation of the First Minister Paul Givan on February 4th. Was Minister Mallon's refusal to respond to Minister Lyons influenced by the financial links she has with EHA through her husband, we wonder?


The DUP MLA Deboragh Erskine reiterated the DUP position in the debate when she said:

"I am pleased that my party is committed to phasing out fossil fuels. As representatives, we have a responsibility to ensure the protection of the environment and to seek to promote renewable energy sources"

going on to state in a DUP press release after the debate:

"Notably the Sinn Féin bill being proposed would not actually have closed the door to petroleum exploration activities in Fermanagh or elsewhere in Northern Ireland. A DUP Minister has built a detailed case in order to give certainty to all those with valid concerns".


Fracking cannot be mitagted Through Regulation

In May 2021, The National University of Ireland Galway
(NUIG) Irish Centre for Human Rights published a research report finding that fracking is incompatible with states’ human rights law obligations under numerous treaties. Their research and findings concluded that the dangers posed by fracking cannot be mitigated through regulation. This research was fed into the submissions to Hatch before the Hatch Report was published and on which Minister Lyons based his decision.  The new policy direction proposed by Minister Lyons in Northern Ireland is a rational acceptance of the logic that fracking cannot be mitigated through regulation and it gives new impetus for Ireland to now sponsor a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a global ban on fracking. 

On May 18th, 2021, the Irish Government published its long-awaited and welcome policy against fracked gas imports as was agreed in the 'Programme For Government 2020'.  We strongly welcomed the statement in this historic, world's-first, anti-fracked gas import policy that "the Government will work with international partners to promote the phasing out of fracking at an international level" and now want the government to move immediately to implement this new policy by agreeing to propose a resolution calling for a global ban on fracking at the United Nations and to work proactively against the global trade in fracked gas by using all the means at its disposal to stop the Shannon LNG US fracked gas import terminal from obtaining development consent.  



This is Fermanagh-based  Belcoo Frack Free's initial reaction:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2104585159722643&id=311902375657606


More to Follow as we take it all in....




End.
Contact:
John McElligott
Safety Before LNG
(087-2804474)
SafetyBeforeLNG@hotmail.com


Notes to Editor:

1. View full speech by Minister Dodds here.



 





            

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