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| UK frackers get more licences to explore | UK frackers get more licences to explore |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| The Oil and Gas Authority has awarded a raft of new licences to explore for oil and gas on the mainland of the UK. | The Oil and Gas Authority has awarded a raft of new licences to explore for oil and gas on the mainland of the UK. |
| The 93 licences to explore 159 blocks of land could pave the way for more controversial hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. | |
| Parts of the Yorkshire, the Midlands, and the North West have been opened for exploration. | Parts of the Yorkshire, the Midlands, and the North West have been opened for exploration. |
| There are also licence blocks in the South of England and Wales. | There are also licence blocks in the South of England and Wales. |
| Around 75% of the exploration licences relate to shale oil and gas, which typically requires fracking. | |
| Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom said: "Alongside conventional drilling sites, we need to get shale gas moving... Now is the time to press ahead and get exploration underway so that we can determine how much shale gas there is and how much we can use." | |
| Among the biggest winners were Ineos, with 21 licences, Cuadrilla, IGas and Southwestern Energy. | |
| Ineos said it was "committed to full consultation with all local communities and will share 6% of revenues with homeowners, landowners and communities close to its shale gas wells." | |
| Today's licences give rights to companies to explore for shale oil and gas, but do not give automatic permission to drill. | |
| Planning permission to build rigs and drill land needs clearance from local or central authorities. | |
| Earlier this year, councillors in Lancashire rejected Cuadrilla's application to drill a handful of shale gas exploratory wells. | |
| There would be too much noise and the impact on the landscape would be too great, they said. | |
| But the final decision will be made by central government. |