London (Platts)--28Feb2013/802 am EST/1302 GMT

The UK Onshore Operators Group, a trade body representing onshore oil and gas companies, said Thursday it had issued a first set of guidelines covering the exploration and appraisal of shale gas in the UK, which includes a requirement to publicly disclose all chemical additives to fluids used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

"We have a strong regulatory environment in the UK, it is therefore important that the industry adopts the highest possible standards with respect to well integrity and fracturing operations," UKOOG CEO Ken Cronin said in a statement.

"The publication of these guidelines demonstrates a commitment to comply with relevant legislation and best practice," Cronin said.

Critically the guidelines set out that operators must publicly disclose all chemical additives to fracturing fluids on a well by well basis, including regulatory authorizations, safety data and maximum concentrations and volumes.

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These disclosures meet or exceed all known standards in the shale gas industry, it said.

The UK lifted a moratorium on the use of fracking in shale gas exploration in December last year.

Fracking for shale gas was halted in May 2011 after early tests by explorer Cuadrilla Resources in Lancashire, northwest England, were linked to two small earth tremors.

A long-awaited report on shale gas resources in the northwest of the UK is due to be published soon by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Recent media reports have suggested there could be anything between 1,300 and 1,700 trillion cubic feet in Cuadrilla's Bowland shale alone, which would be about 250 times more than previously expected.

'EXCITING OPPORTUNITY'

UK Energy Minister John Hayes said Thursday that shale gas was an "exciting opportunity and could contribute significantly to our energy security."

"It is important that any development is safe and the public must be reassured that it is safe. I welcome these guidelines, which complement our robust regulatory system to ensure all operations are carried out to the highest possible standards and the environment is fully protected," Hayes said.

The UKOOG guidelines were written by a high-level working group that included operating and service companies with input from the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the Health and Safety Executive, the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

The first issue of the guidelines relate to the exploration and appraisal phase of shale gas well developments and contain what is considered to be good industry practice.

References where appropriate are made to relevant legislation, industry standards and practices including Oil and Gas UK Guidelines, particularly to the Well Integrity Guidelines issued in July 2012.

UKOOG only appointed its first CEO, Cronin, earlier this month as it said it was expanding its scope to reflect the increased importance of onshore oil and gas exploration.

The group, which has been in existence as a trade body since 1996, said Cronin had extensive experience in the energy industry working with firms such as IGas, Gazprom and British Energy.

The potential startup of shale gas production in the UK is drawing a lot of attention to the sector.

There has been onshore oil and gas work in the UK for decades, including production from western Europe's biggest onshore oil and gas field at Wytch Farm in Dorset. But offshore production from the North Sea has always been the source of the biggest volumes and the main focus of attention in the past.

Offshore producers are represented by Oil and Gas UK, which was previously known as the UK Offshore Operators Association.

--Stuart Elliott, stuart_elliott@platts.com
--Edited by James Leech, james_leech@platts.com

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