UKOOG calls in Community to promote onshore oil & gas
3 Nov 2016
UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG), the trade body representing the UK’s onshore sector, has joined forces with Community, the steel, iron and manufacturing industries trade union, to promote the importance of home-grown oil and gas and to protect British jobs.
According to UKOOG, the oil and gas industry directly employs or sustains 500,000 people, while the emergence of the nascent shale gas industry and new conventional fields in the UK could create up to 64,500 new jobs, says accountants EY.
The two bodies have signed a memorandum of understanding to ensure that the UK has access to reliable and secure supplies of home-grown oil and gas.
“UKOOG and Community agree that oil and gas produced in the UK will have a key role in securing future energy supplies, reducing the UK’s reliance on foreign imports, creating highly skilled jobs and helping Britain move to a low carbon energy future,” say the two bodies.
Ken Cronin, chief executive of UKOOG, said: “The UK currently imports 50% of its gas needs, and is forecast to increase to 75% in the next 15 years, costing the UK £10 billion a year. Importing gas across continents and oceans by tanker also has a serious environmental impact compared with producing it in the UK.
“We are looking forward to working with Community to provide the public with affordable, home-grown energy and give them the confidence that the industry works in a safe, transparent and environmentally responsible manner.”
Despite public support for fracking being at an all-time low, the government recently threw its weight behind the industry, approving plans for Cuadrilla to conduct fracking activity at its Preston New Road site in Lancashire, overruling the County Council’s original decision.
