The United Kingdom’s government has commissioned a study of unconventional natural gas extraction, again opening a door to shale development in the country more than two years after it was shut by regulators. 

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has asked the British Geological Survey for a report by the end of June. 

The request was made to assess any progress that’s been made since November 2019, when the government suspended test operations in the Bowland Shale following a small earthquake. Specifically, the geological survey has been asked to explore new drilling techniques, geologic modeling or new locations, among other things, that could help minimize the seismic risk associated with unconventional drilling and completion techniques.

Kwarteng noted that unconventional natural gas development in the country is years away from yielding commercial output and helping to reduce volatile near-term prices.

“However, there will continue to be an ongoing demand for oil and gas over the coming decades as we transition to cheap renewable energy and new nuclear power,” he added. In light of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “criminal invasion of Ukraine, it is absolutely right that we explore all possible domestic energy sources.”

UK oil production has slid by nearly 3% over the last decade or so, while natural gas production has declined by more than 4% over the same time, according to BP plc’s latest Statistical Review of World Energy. Declining oil and gas production across Europe has exacerbated a dependency on Russian fossil fuel that the continent is looking to eliminate. 

Kwarteng’s request comes ahead of a UK strategy scheduled to be released later this week that’s expected to detail more domestic energy production and a cut in Russian energy imports. European natural gas prices have skyrocketed this year amid the threat of Russia halting supplies to the continent. Russia provides about 40% of Europe’s natural gas imports. 

The UK imported 2.9 billion cubic meters (Bcm) of liquefied natural gas from Russia in 2020 and 4.7 Bcm of Russian natural gas via pipeline the same year, according to BP. 

UK-based Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. drilled two horizontal wells into the Bowland in 2018 in Lancashire and was given permission that year to complete them using hydraulic fracturing. The company reported encouraging initial results in early 2019. The tests were suspended after tremors in the area. 

The wells were ordered to be plugged by the nation’s Oil and Gas Authority in February, but the agency withdrew the requirement a month later and gave the company one year to prove development at its New Preston Road well site near Blackpool is safe. 

Kwarteng stressed again Tuesday that development of the country’s shale gas reserves could only proceed if the “scientific evidence demonstrates that shale gas extraction is safe, sustainable and of minimal disturbance to those living and working nearby.”