The UK is falling short when it comes to domestic natural gas production, according to one expert.
Alasdair Buchanan, chief operating officer and managing director of Senergy Energy Services, explained that with more than 50 per cent of Britain's natural gas coming from costly imports, more needs to be done to secure a domestic supply.
This will not only serve to drive down costs for business but create new jobs for permanent staff and contractors alike.
Mr Buchanan claims importing gas has no tax reward for people in the UK and when shale becomes profitable, firms will be liable for 62 per cent tax.
By bringing natural gas harvesting back into Britain, each site will deliver between £5 and £10 million worth of community benefits.
Currently, imports of natural gas are coming from Norway and Qatar, thereby increasing costs. With the gas attributing to 40 per cent of the country's power generation and around three quarters of domestic and business heating, a long-term, sustainable solution will be important.
However, the UK is experiencing a resource problem. The North Sea has a declining supply of natural gas and the government now needs to look at the "energy mix," Mr Buchanan claims.
There could be a solution in shale, he added, which has the potential to reduce UK natural gas imports by 50 per cent.
Further exploration is needed to determine the role unconventional gas can play in the future energy arena.
This will be crucial to restore a healthy balance in the market. As a result of the increased cost of importing, there has been a shift in coal and gas. From 2011 to 2012, the production of gas to coal reversed from 40:30 to 30:40.
Consequently, the use of cheap coal - also predominantly imported - is increasing, generating 25 to 50 per cent more CO2 than gas for the same energy. This is having a significant environmental effect and could push the UK's carbon emissions targets further out of reach, Mr Buchanan said.
It doesn't have to be this way, however. "The increasing price of natural gas and technological advances such as directional drilling, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracture stimulation mean that onshore UK natural gas resources have the potential to solve impending energy challenges for the country," Mr Buchanan claimed.
He added that by bringing energy production back onshore, it is possible to raise awareness of shale gas and change the perception of hydrocarbon.
"There are issues to address around unconventional gas, but if this can be done in the right way it could give the UK potential to be energy self-sufficient once again," Mr Buchanan said.
However, the right skills will be needed to ensure any new projects are feasible - something that could prove challenging in the current environment.
Yet Mr Buchanan is confident that Britain has the skilled people needed to make onshore energy projects a success.
This may originate from the transfer of oil and gas expertise or through new talent coming up from universities.
Nevertheless, there are many that will question whether the UK currently has the talent capacity to sustain a change in the energy marketplace.
I am a chartered tax advisor with a specialism in the freelance contractor sector advising contractors on how to structure their affairs and recruitment businesses and end hirers on the effective…
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