Shale Gas Extraction Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Stephen Crabb
Main Page: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)Department Debates - View all Stephen Crabb's debates with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Shale Gas Extraction
Stephen Crabb Excerpts(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Mr Rees-Mogg
It will be important for the companies that wish to extract gas to ensure that there is local support, and to come up with packages that ensure that it is forthcoming. It is important for local communities to welcome the extraction of shale gas, and I think it very likely that they will.
Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)
When we are faced with a Russian leader who uses gas supplies as a tool of warfare, it is entirely prudent to examine again the viability of all our domestic energy resources, but may I encourage my right hon. Friend not to lose sight of some of the other big, exciting potential opportunities that are opening up—for example, floating offshore wind power in the Celtic sea? Will he meet me, and other colleagues with an interest in the Celtic sea, to discuss what further steps he and his Department can take to further those projects?
Mr Rees-Mogg
I should be absolutely delighted to meet my right hon. Friend to discuss that. It is something that the Government are looking at. We are very enthusiastic about examining all possible sources, and I think that floating offshore wind is potentially a very good one. We want to establish whether we can expedite offshore wind projects so that they happen faster and we have supplies coming in. We need to be considering—and we are considering and discussing with other countries—how we can expedite carbon capture and storage and move towards hydrogen. The long-term issues are ones that we are focusing on and dealing with, but we have many years of needing gas, which is why I welcome my right hon. Friend’s support for this announcement.