Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2025 to Question 37979 on Natural Gas: Imports, what the minimum safety criteria are with which a shale gas company must comply when plugging an unused well; and who monitors compliance with safety standards.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Heath and Safety Executive and the North Sea Transition Authority are the relevant regulators for onshore shale gas extraction. They regulate compliance with the criteria set for plugging and abandoning wells at the end of their useful life.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence on the potential impact of putting the UK’s shale gas wells permanently beyond use on their policies; and whether he has put contingency plans in place to replace gas imports in the event of overseas supplies being (a) reduced and (b) cut off during an international conflict.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK has a secure and diverse energy system. Over the past three years the market has successfully delivered sufficient supplies amidst a period characterised by high energy prices and uncertainties caused by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and conflict in the Middle East. The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity also sets out the arrangements for the safe and effective management of downstream gas or electricity disruption.
Decisions on whether to abandon wells are ultimately a matter for the company. Hydrocarbon wells must be safely plugged and abandoned when they are no longer in use.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate his Department has made of the (a) volume and (b) proportion of liquefied natural gas imported from the United States derived from shale gas in each of the last three years; and whether emissions created by the (i) extraction, (ii) liquefaction and (iii) transportation to the UK of that gas exceed the emissions which would be created by extracting an equivalent volume of shale gas in the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Data on gas import origins (including imports of liquified natural gas (LNG) from the US) is published each month in Energy Trends table 4.4. Further disaggregation of US LNG by method of extraction is not collected or available.
The UK has no active commercial shale gas production and hence no emissions data from production to allow a comparison with emissions from imported gas.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps to ensure that all domestic energy customers are offered the facility to pay energy bills by cheque; and if his Department will issue guidance to energy suppliers on enabling customer payment by cheque.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The setting of tariffs, and associated payment methods, are a commercial decision for the energy companies. Regulation of the sector is the responsibility of independent regulator Ofgem.