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Fracking

Asked by Gideon AmosLiberal DemocratDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled Answered 28 October 2025UIN 83586

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to review the technical definition of hydraulic fracturing in respect of (a) volume thresholds and (b) geological conditions to prevent onshore oil and gas extraction operations from circumventing the current moratorium on fracking.

Answered by Michael Shanks

Proppant squeezes are not currently defined in legislation as high volume hydraulic fracturing for shale gas extraction. We are committed to banning fracking for good and any future decision on national planning policy for fracking will take into account all volumes of hydraulic fracturing.

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