The companies at the vanguard of Britain’s fracking push said this will change in 2018. According to the British Geological Survey, Britain is sitting on shale gas deposits that could supply the UK for 25 years. Ann-Marie Wilkinson, the IGas director of corporate affairs, said: “In terms of moving the industry forward, it [2018] is very significant. These allow shale companies to apply directly to the government for planning approval if local authorities take more than 16 weeks to decide whether fracking should go ahead. However, he pointed out that while fracking is close to becoming an established part of the British oil and gas industry, the government seems cooler on the process than ever before.

Source: The Guardian December 25, 2017 14:00 UTC