A fracking company with licences to drill for shale gas in north Yorkshire is drawing up plans for a £500m stock market float. Third Energy is hoping to raise as much as £250m to extract a huge deposit of gas near the Vale of Pickering on the north Yorkshire moors. The buyout firm Global Natural Resource Investments (GNRI), which owns Third Energy, has hired Lazard to explore a public offering next year, sources said. The company is aiming to capitalise on Theresa May’s pledge to spark a British fracking revolution. In last week’s election manifesto, the Conservatives said Britain could emulate America’s booming shale gas industry, which has slashed US energy prices. May promised to speed up the permit process and create a “shale wealth fund” — with some of the proceeds handed back to local communities. Third Energy’s project, which is close to the Flamingo Land theme park in Ryedale, has drawn stiff resistance from nearby residents. Locals are worried about the effects of hydraulic “fracking” — the drilling technique that pumps millions of gallons of water and chemicals to break open gas-bearing rock. Third Energy has pledged to give 1% of its revenues to the community.
Times 21st May 2017 read more »