A couple of news snippets from north of the border this morning suggest that Scotland is inching its way towards exploiting its shale gas assets. First up is petrochemicals giant Ineos, best known as operator of the Grangemouth refinery, which has announced that it is going to get into the shale gas industry itself, saying that it is likely to apply for exploration licences in the near future.
Ineos, which has a registered office in Hampshire but its headquarters in Switzerland, needs gas as fuel for its chemical production plants at Grangemouth and Runcorn in Cheshire, and Crotty expressed frustration at the slow place of UK shale development. He feels the industry is held back by a lack of clear communication and leadership.
I've heard the performance of the management of UK unconventionals criticised before. I certainly think they could deal with their green tormentors in a much more robust fashion. But I think it's a bit unfair to say that this is what is holding the industry back. Surely it's the regulatory and political environment that is the problem.
At the same time, the Scottish Government has released the results of an inquiry into the safety of unconventional gas extraction north of the border and has, like everyone else who has looked at such questions, concluded that it should be fine.