Britain offers new shale gas sites for first time in seven years

Britain offered shale gas exploration licences for the first time in seven years on Tuesday, awarding new sites to companies including IGas and France's GDF Suez. Britain's Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to go "all out for shale", hoping it will help reduce dependence on energy imports and generate additional tax revenue despite opposition from environmental campaigners.
The government's licensing round, delayed since the start of the year, offered 27 new shale gas and conventional exploration blocks and attracted 95 applications from 47 companies, the government said, showing developers are still interested in exploring for the unconventional fuel in Britain. Other European countries, including France and Germany, have banned the use of shale gas hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, due to environmental concerns. The British government also offered new blocks on Tuesday to explorers Egdon Resources and Cuadrilla Resources, as well as Swiss chemicals company INEOS.