UKOOG—the representative body for the UK onshore oil and gas industry—and the GMB trade union have announced the agreement of a joint charter on shale gas, focusing on safety, skills and supply chain development.

The charter underlines a joint commitment to ensure:

• That gas is recognized as essential to British industry and households

• Gas has a key role in both the UK’s future energy supply and the move to a low carbon energy future

• An increased understanding about the importance of gas and the long history of E&P onshore in Britain

• The establishment of an Industry Safety Forum to build on the already strong regulatory and safety foundations in the sector

• Skilled jobs are created and local communities benefit through the employment and training opportunities this brings

• British manufacturing and other supply chains have the opportunity to benefit from the development of the shale gas industry.

UKOOG and GMB are committed to ensuring the industry works safely, transparently and in an environmentally responsible way. Shale gas development has attracted a great deal of debate around health, safety and the environment in recent years and GMB and UKOOG will seek to address these issues.

This agreement will help build understanding among local communities and further bolster the strong safety and regulatory standards of the sector. The industry is already regulated under the HSE, EA and DECC; has a comprehensive set of internal guidelines, and a ground-breaking agreement around monitoring of fracing sites was announced last year.

GMB has welcomed UKOOG’s development of the National College for Onshore Oil and Gas. As part of this agreement, GMB will have a seat on the Operation and Advisory Council of the National College.

“Natural gas from shale has the potential to generate many thousands of highly skilled well paid jobs,” Ken Cronin, UKOOG Chief Executive, said. “Gas is used for heating and cooking in over 80% of the homes and workplaces in the country. Gas is also an important feedstock for the chemical industry, which employs tens of thousands of people in the North of England. It is essential for the economic well-being and the energy security of the UK that we get on withexploration to determine the extent of the gas resources we have in this country.”

“Having access to gas is a matter of national security. Our homes and large parts of British industry need gas; any suggestion to the contrary is just not real world,” GMB National Secretary Gary Smith said. “The truth is we are going to be using gas, including shale gas, for a long time to come. Given these facts, we need to honestly consider the moral and environmental issues about transporting gas, including shale gas, across oceans and continents and being increasingly dependent on gas from countries with regulatory and environmental standards lower than ours,”

“GMB believes it is essential that we continue to debate the merits of shale gas and that this is done soberly. The UK has serious issues about energy security and they need to be considered in any debate on shale,” Smith added.