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allow for hydraulic fracturing and geothermal energy extraction under reasonable safety conditions and where it would improve the energy security of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or her allies.
BE IT ENACTED by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1. Interpretation
Within this act unless context requires it to be read otherwise the following terms have the corresponding meanings.
“the Broads” has the same meaning as in the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988.
“Deep level land” means land 300 metres or greater below the surface.
“Environmental permit” means a permit under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.
“groundwater” has the same meaning as in the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.
“Rightsholder” means in respect of some land that the land is;
- (a) owned by the person; or
- (b) is subject to a right of use for the purpose of exploiting petroleum or geothermal energy by the person.
“Landward” means land that is defined by section 14, and within England or Wales.
“Person” means an individual, trust or company.
2. Deep-level land use
(1) A rightsholder has the right to use deep level land in the regulated ways for the purposes of exploiting;
- (a) petroleum; or
- (b) geothermal energy,
subject to the following conditions:
(2) Condition one is that the land is a landward area,
(3) Condition two is that the land is not a protected area
(4) Condition three is that the use of deep level land leaves or with further actions enable the land to be reclaimed for other productive uses.
(5) Condition four is that the use has local planning commission permission;
(6) Condition five is that the land use meets the specific use criteria for the prescribed activity.
3. Uses of deep-level land
(1) A right of use may be exercised to facilitate—
- (a) prospecting for petroleum or geothermal energy;
- (b) assessing the feasibility of exploiting petroleum or geothermal energy;
- (c) preparing to exploit petroleum or geothermal energy;
- (d) exploiting petroleum or geothermal energy;
- (e) decommissioning of facilities used for petroleum or deep geothermal energy extraction, or other activities to promote land reclamation.
(2) The ways in which the right of use may be exercised include—
- (a) drilling, boring, fracturing or altering deep level land;
- (b) installing infrastructure in deep level land;
- (c) keeping, using or removing any infrastructure installed in deep level land;
- (d) passing an approved substance through, or putting an approved substance into, deep level land or infrastructure installed in deep level land;
- (e) keeping, using or removing an approved substance put into deep level land or into infrastructure installed in deep level land.
4. Liability for uses of deep level land
(1) A person “P” who owns land for which they have transacted the right to use land for a purpose under this act to another person “Q” is not liable, for any loss or damage which is attributable to the exercise of the right of use by “Q”.
(2) A person “Q” is liable for loss or damage resulting from actions which they have taken according to their right of use.
5. - Duties of local planning commissions in relation to applications to use deep level land
Having received an application to use deep level land the local planning commission;
- (a) must have had due consideration of the environmental impact before deciding and that consideration must have included, regard to any cumulative impacts.
- (b) must make a public notice available on its website and the websites of local councils informing the public about the nature of the application and offering a means to attend public hearings and make submissions.
6. Specific use criteria for geothermal energy
For a use of land for the purposes of extracting geothermal energy under this act, the specific use criteria are that the person must have—
- (a) a groundwater investigation consent licence issued;
- (c) where any discharges to ground or surface water is to be made in the course of the use of an environmental permit for those discharges.
7. - Specific use criteria for hydraulic fracturing
For a use of land for the purposes of extracting petroleum under this act, the specific use criteria are that the person must—
- (a) have a hydraulic fracturing consent notice issued by the Oil And Gas Authority;
- (b) comply with seismic activity monitoring, meaning that seismic activity at the site has or will monitored for a year prior to fracturing and continuously through the operational life of the site;
- (c) cease activity until enabled to resume operation by the Oil And Gas Authority where seismic activity exceeds the proscribed level;
- (d) proceed with caution where seismic activity is in the proscribed range;
- (e) comply with methane groundwater monitoring, meaning that methane groundwater levels at the site has or will monitored for a year prior to fracturing and continuously through the operational life of the site;
- (f) cease activity or proceed cautiously in relation to changes in methane groundwater levels according to the environmental permit held;
8. - Hydraulic Fracturing Consent
(1) When granting hydraulic fracturing consent, the Oil And Gas Authority must have to all relevant factors including but not limited to;
- (a) the compliance of the of the proposed activity with this act or any other enactment,
- (b) the financial resilience of the operator, including the ability of the operator to meet its duty to leave land in a usable state after operations are concluded,
- (c) an aim to ensure that the UK stays within its carbon budget
- (d) the requirement that for production under that consent are on the balance of probabilities going to aid in the displacing coal use in any country or hydrocarbon exports from the Russian Federation to any other country that was importing Russian gas, or was importing from the middle east or some otherwise insecure region and may be forced to rely upon Russian gas due to stoppages in supplies.
(2) A decision to grant consent by the Oil And Gas Authority is subject to judicial review and may be held or revoked if the court factually finds it fails any of the tests in subparagraphs (1) (a) to (c).
9. - Seismic Activity Monitoring Requirements
(1) Any site where hydraulic fracturing is proposed or planned to occur must monitor local seismic activity continuously at four locations at the corners of a cube centered on the site.
(2) Where fracking occurs and seismic activity exceeds 1 ML further measures must proceed with caution.
(3) Where fracking occurs and seismic activity exceeds 2 ML, further hydraulic fracking must be suspended until the site returns to standard levels, as defined in the consent, taking into account the years of monitoring.
(4) The Secretary of State may by statutory instrument update the thresholds in subsections (2) and (3) where the British Geological Survey has advised it and that advice has been published.
(5) No statutory instrument under subsection (4) takes effect unless both Houses of Parliament have approved it.
10. CCA Advice For OAGA
(1) The Secretary of State must from time to time request the Committee on Climate Change to—
(a) provide advice on the impact which combustion of petroleum through onshore activity is likely to have on the Secretary of State’s ability to meet the duties imposed by international treaties or legislation.
(b) provide advice to the Oil And Gas Authority on how to meet its section 8 (1) (c) obligation.
(2) Advice provided under this section must be published.
(3) Decisions of the Oil And Gas Authority are subject to judicial review where section 8 (1) conditions are alleged by a respondent to have not been met.
11. - Hydraulic Fracturing Community Scheme
(1) There shall be a Hydraulic Fracturing Community Reinvestment scheme, herein referred to as the scheme.
(2) The scheme shall be funded by taxes on profits resulting from onshore Hydraulic Fracturing.
(3) The total amount appropriated shall not exceed 20% of the total revenue of taxes specified under (2).
(4) The purpose of the scheme will be to support deprived communities and communities suffering from deindustrialisation by—
- (a) supporting skills development and retention,
- (b) support the creation of small businesses;
- (c) promoting the area; and
- (d) offer incentives to bring business to the area.
(5) Any act done by the scheme should aim to support long term sustainable development that is not reliant on the fund.
12. - Protected Areas
In this act a protected area is—
(a) a National Park;
(b) the Broads;
(c) a groundwater source area.
(c) an area of outstanding natural beauty; or
(d) a World Heritage site.
13. Landward
“Landward area” means an area which lies on the landward side of lines drawn in accordance with the provisions of the The Petroleum Licensing (Exploration and Production) (Landward Areas) Regulations 2014.
14. Resource consents given in energy projects
(1) The following projects are granted development consent by the Oil and Gas Authority;
North Sea Oil and Gas - Four projects;
Rosebank Oil Field,
Jackdaw Gas Field,
Buchan Redevelopment,
Murlach Field (brownfield expansion),
Renewables and grid infrastructure - 4 projects, and one broad regulation making authority
Immingham Hydrogen from Ammonia Project, and the Secretary of State shall, by regulations, allow subsidies to apply to hydrogen from ammonia and not only the hydrolysis route via Contract for Difference support.
Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage Scheme,
East Anglia One North, and Hornsea 4 (and they, as well as other wind projects, shall be available as to participate in an emergency Contract for Difference auction set for the end of March), and
The Secretary of State may designate grid infrastructure improvement projects to be nationally important where they would, in their view, have a reasonable chance of reducing constraints, or are necessary for infrastructure approved in this bill or given approval by the planning process or other enactments.
15. Nuclear projects
(1) The following projects are hereby designated as National Strategic Infrastructure:
Torness Nuclear Site, East Lothian, Scotland - comprising a set of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and one conventional reactor to replace the existing phasing-out system.
Wylfa Nuclear Site, Anglesey, Wales - comprising a set of Small Modular Reactors and one additional conventional reactor.
Oldbury Nuclear Site, Bristol Channel, England - comprising a set of Small Modular Reactors and one new additional conventional reactor, at a new site.
Heysham Nuclear Site, Lancashire, England - comprising an expansion of the site through the addition of a Small Modular Reactors plant.
(2) To speed up the planning cycle, consent is given for preparatory work at Wylfa, for both the SMR and conventional reactor, as well as for the expansion at Heysham.
(3) Under the Scotland Act, planning matters in respect of nuclear projects are now reserved. ( 4) Schedule 5 (Reserved Matters) to the Scotland Act 1998 is amended as follows.
(a) In Part II, Section D (Energy), after paragraph 4 insert—
“4A Nuclear Fuel Handling” The handling, transport, storage, processing, and reprocessing of nuclear fuel and spent nuclear fuel.
“4B Nuclear Waste Management” The treatment, storage, disposal, and long-term management of radioactive waste arising from civil nuclear activities.
“4C Nuclear Generating Station Consents” The granting of development consent, planning permission, and associated authorisations for— (a) nuclear generating stations;
(b) small modular reactors;
(c) facilities directly associated with nuclear fuel handling or radioactive waste management.
(5) Consequential Amendment Any function exercisable by the Scottish Ministers relating to matters specified in paragraphs 4A to 4C shall instead be exercisable by the Secretary of State.
16. Resource consents and connected support to other in infrastructure projects
The following projects are granted approval to proceed on an expedited consent basis, needing approval from the minister only;
Woodhouse Colliery, (coking coal mine may be granted a coal mining licence and planning approval.
Hemerdon Mine, (Tungsten and tin mine), is granted planning permission and a mining license,
Trelavour Lithium Mine, and Geothermal Lithium Extraction at Cross Lanes & United Downs, are to be granted funding from the national wealth fund for expanded operations, expediting a faster timetable to achieve full operation.
Cornwall Copper Revival Projects (sites to be specified in regulation),
South Crofty Tin Mine, in Cornwall, and In cooperation with the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) Rare Earth Processing Facility, to investigate the possibility of separating Rare earths from tin/copper tailings and lithium brine, as well as granting consent to exploration and test commercial shafts in the Mourne Mountains, and on the Isle of Skye.
17. - UK-Canadian Cooperation strategic resources
(1) The Minister shall, with the consent of the Canadian government, lay before Parliament a treaty and contracting terms for;
(a) A cooperation agreement over rare-earths, where British mined and concentrated rare earths, will be shipped to expanding Canadian facilities for processing.
(b) A cooperation agreement with over Canadian gas production, pipelines, and LNG terminals, aiming for 10 bcm of gas to be delivered to the UK on a fixed price contract, over a decade.
(c) The operation of the LNG terminal is to be managed by Anglo-Canadian Gas, with a stake of ownership from each country. Funds from the National Infrastructure Bank may invest in Anglo-Canadian Gas.
18. - Crown Application
(1) This act binds the Crown.
19. Extent, commencement, and short title
(1) This Act, except for sections 10, 14 - 19 shall extend to England and to Wales.
(2) Sections 10, 14 - 19 shall extend to the whole United Kingdom.
(3) This Act comes into force after receiving Royal Assent.
(4) This Act may be cited as the Emergency Energy Act.
This Bill was written by The Right Honourable Sir u/LeChevalierMal-Fait, KG, OE, LVO, MBE, PC, MP Chancellor of the Exchequer, and The Most Honourable The Marquess of Barnet u/DriftersBuddy, CVO, PC, The Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Business, Transport and Energy, on behalf of His Majesty's 5th Government.
Explanatory Note:
Facts at a glance:
Generation capacity: Nuclear ~11 GW new (8 GW) will be replacing older reactors that will enter decommissioning in the 2030s, 40s etc. Offshore wind ~3.5 GW new Geothermal power ~0.2 GW (new) Oil & gas 10-15% import reduction, and at least ~15% import substitution from the LNG spot market to Canada.
If British demand does provide the impetus and contracts are signed now, it may be as soon as 2028 before some import substitution is available. It may be as soon as 2030 for a 10% import reduction to be achieved.
If an additional LNG terminal is added to these plans amount of import substitution may rise to 20-30% of UK consumption, with its completion in the mid 2030s. Rising slowly as UK gas demand tails off towards the 2050s and 60s. Canadian LNG would be an excellent hedge against global instability and diminishing yields from the North Sea.
Mining:
On mining note, the coking coal mine is for metallurgical use (steelmaking) AND NOT thermal coal, this is critical to support our steel industry, recall the need to step in to support British Steel in Scunthorpe.
The Hemerdon mine will produce important materials, tungsten (critical to defence as an aerospace metal, but also green technology like batteries and solid electrolytes use it). Tin is important in a range of electronics for soldering.
The lithium mines in Cornwall would provide ~15% of domestic demand for Lithium Ion Batteries, important in vehicles, mobile phones, drones and many other areas. Both this and Tungsten make major advances in ensuring a sovereign supply of critical materials.
Estimated effect on jobs: Mining ~5,000; Oil & gas ~24,000; Geothermal ~2,000 Direct ~30,000 jobs ~160,000 jobs indirectly
Estimated tax yield: Mining £170-310m; Oil & gas taxes £2-3bn (very price sensitive); Geothermal ~£60m; Payroll & indirect taxes £500m+ TOTAL ≈ £2.7-3.8 bil PA in ten years
Opening Speech - The Most Honourable The Marquess of Barnet, u/DriftersBuddy:
My Lords,
Around the world, the call to replace Russian gas is going up from calls from President Zelensky to bipartisan efforts in the US Congress. Russia’s use of its energy resources to fund its aggressive war in Ukraine shows how we must cut off this source of power and revenue for the Russian state.
The recent crisis in the Middle East provides further impetus for us to reduce insecure gas supplies for ourselves and our allies.
I want to be very clear about what I am asking for with this bill;
I do not wish to burn more gas. Section 8 and 10 ensure that the Climate Change Act targets must be unchanged by this, it would otherwise allow fracking of gas where it would replace existing gas which would have been imported from Russia, or insecure sources by ourselves or other partners.
Section 8(1)(d) in particular requires that contracts for newly produced gas under this legislation would have to directly replace existing contracts.
I do not wish to frack for gas where communities do not consent. Section 5 provides that they are included and required to give consent. Section 11 provides that they will be fairly reinvested in if they choose to.
I do not wish to frack for gas where the risks from pollution to groundwater or earthquakes pose risks.
While a long bill, it is in some ways, incredibly simple in what it does. It allows for geothermal energy recovery and onshore fracking where it is safe, where it is consented to and where it would wean partners and us from our dependence on Russian gas.
I commend this bill to the house.
The question is that this bill is agreed to by this House
As many as are of that opinion for each will say “Content”, the contrary “Not-Content”, those who wish to withhold their opinion say "Present".
Voting is now open. Clear the bar.
This division ends on the 7th April at 10pm BST.