Fracking companies found by a Greenpeace investigation to be either wholly or partly owned by entities based in offshore tax havens have today been issued further fracking licenses by the UK Government.
Yesterday a Greenpeace investigation revealed that 40% of existing fracking licenses (issued ahead of today’s announcement) were held by companies linked to tax havens, including Celtique Energy, Cuadrilla, INEOS and Third Energy.
In an announcement today, the Government has issued further licenses to these companies, causing embarrassment to an industry that has made future tax revenues key to its case for shale gas drilling.
Further analysis to follow, including which MP’s constituencies and National Parks, AONBs, SSSIs and other protected areas could be fracked as a result of today’s announcement.
Greenpeace Energy Campaigner Hannah Martin said:
‘Just days after an historic agreement at the Paris climate summit to move towards a renewable energy future – the UK Government’s gung ho approach to a new fossil fuel industry is bizarre and irresponsible.’
‘The future economic benefits of fracking are often touted as a key argument for investment in shale gas drilling. But when companies like Cuadrilla are majority owned by firms based in offshore tax havens, it raises serious questions about where the profits would go.
‘Even worse, the Government seems to be saying it’s open season on the UK’s rural landscapes – forcing fracking on a reluctant public and on our most precious areas. This announcement means that vast swathes of British countryside have been opened up to fracking. And now that fracking under National Parks and other protected areas has been pushed through – it seems that nowhere is sacred.’
Notes to editors
- Revealed: Cuadrilla and leading fracking firms’ tax haven ownership - http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2015/12/16/revealed-cuadrilla-and-leading-fracking-firms-tax-haven-ownership/
- Oil and gas licensing rounds: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/oil-and-gas-licensing-rounds
For more information and interviews contact Luke Massey on luke.massey@greenpeace.org or 07973873155. Alternatively, contact the Greenpeace UK press office on 020 7865 8255.
