‘Fracking’ concern for ‘Green’ leader

Speaking to the Sentinel, Steven Agnew MLA said that ‘fracking’, an industrial process used for extracting natural gas, was “a genuine concern and a realistic possibility” for the people of the Limavady Borough.

It recently emerged that Rathlin Energy, a Canadian owned company, were exploring an area known as the Rathlin Basin for energy resources.

Under questioning from the Sentinel, Rathlin Energy have not ruled out the possibility that they would carry out ‘fracking’ or ‘hydraulic fracturing’ in this area, despite concerns from local campaigners such as the ‘No To Fracking Group.’

The Rathlin Basin area stretches from Limavady to Ballycastle, and Steven Agnew believes “he has heard enough to be concerned”.

He said: “While my main work on fracking has focused on Fermanagh, where a company has a licence which spells out explicitly their intentions to begin fracking, I have visited areas in the Rathlin Basin such as Ballycastle and spoken to local people.

“While the licence held by Rathlin Energy does not include fracking, it does not rule it out. Certainly, when I spoke to the local people up there they were very concerned.”

He said local people were concerned “that the people involved, (Connaught Oil and Gas, the owners of Rathlin Energy) who have done fracking before, have that intention. Going on the work of other people – I have heard enough to be concerned.

“They (Rathlin Energy) have refused to rule it out at every opportunity, despite persistent questioning from yourselves at the Sentinel. People should be concerned.”

Much controversy has surrounded the process of ‘fracking’, which is legal and used to extract gas from the earth for fuel. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves drilling deep into the earth before using large volumes water at high-pressure to force ‘fissures’ or cracks in the rock open in order to allow gas to be extracted.

The process is most often used to extract gas from shale rock formations.

Steven Agnew told the Sentinel: “This is a genuine concern and a realistic possibility that if they find Shale gas these people will be willing to use fracking to extract it.”

Mr Agnew and the Green Party in Northern Ireland have been actively opposing fracking throughout Northern Ireland since the prospect came to light in County Fermanagh.

The MLA and party leader summarised the basis of their opposition to fracking. He said: “I think the biggest concern would be from the volumes of contaminated water. Each well requires approximately 20 million litres of water – and it generally involves carcinogenic (cancer causing) chemicals.

“High pressured water underground – aside from geological dangers – the risk is that it could seep into the water table. One example of this happening was in the USA, where fracking has been directly linked to a poisoned water supply.

“One of the things we have here in Northern Ireland is good quality drinking water – it is something we almost take for granted. Do we want to risk that?”

He added: “Limavady is an area which is quite focused on tourism and agriculture. There is some stunning scenery in that whole area of the Rathlin Basin. This is going to be quite an industrial process if it goes ahead and when you talk about the equipment needed – you don’t have that large scale industrialised area up there the way you might in somewhere like Belfast. Do you want to jeopardise the agriculture and tourism industries for this?

“Even the supposed economic benefits of something like fracking – it is a real red herring. It is quite a specialised and highly skilled industry. Do you think they are going to take the time to train local people or will they bring in their own workers from elsewhere?”

A spokesperson for Rathlin Energy, while still refusing to rule out the possibility of fracking, said that much community consultation would be sought and that any proposals would be subject to planning permission. Rathlin Energy Ltd. are still at the “very early stages of reviewing data”, a company spokesperson told the Sentinel.