However, the Geo-mechanical Study Of Bowland Shale Seismicity Report commissioned by energy exploration firm Cuadrilla Resources said the combination of geological factors that caused the quakes was rare, and would be unlikely to occur together again at future well sites.

A number of campaigning and environmental organisations are calling for the suspension of shale gas exploration in the UK because on environmental concerns. 

The Department for Energy and Climate Change currently see no need for any moratorium on shale gas. This is also the view of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee which held an inquiry into shale gas earlier this year and took evidence from Government, regulators, the British Geological Survey, the oil and gas industry and environmental groups. 

The process, hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is a technique that uses water, pumped at high pressure, into the rock to create narrow fractures to allow the gas to flow into the well bore to be captured. 

Commenting on the report , Energy Minister Charles Hendry said: 

“The potential for unconventional gas is worth exploring because of the additional security of supply and economic benefits it could provide. But it is important to stress it is very early days for shale gas in the UK – the scale of any possible commercial production is still unknown.

“We are committed to the highest standards of safety and environmental protection in all UK oil and gas activities, and we will look at Cuadrilla’s report carefully with the assistance of our independent experts and regulators, before deciding whether hydraulic fracturing operations should resume. This is a potentially important addition to our energy resources, but its development must be done in a way that carries public confidence.”

Concerns about water supply

Any application to undertake fracking in the UK must go through the local planning authority process and before any drilling occurs, an application for authorisation for any discharge must be made to the Environment Agency or Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in Scotland, which will only be granted in the agency is confident that there is no risk to the environment, and in particular to drinking water. As part of the process, operators are required to disclose the content of fracking fluids to the Environment Agency.

 The Climate Change Select Committee also concluded that hydraulic fracturing itself does not pose a direct risk to water aquifers, provided that the well-casing is intact.

Commenting on the report findings, Friends of the Earth's Senior Climate Campaigner Tony Bosworth said:

"This report shows fracking for shale gas caused earth tremors in Lancashire - experience in the US shows it could also pollute air and water supplies.

"Extracting shale gas would suck vital funding away from clean and safe energy alternatives that could create thousands more UK jobs.

"An early seismic detection system won't be enough to make local people feel safe - there should be no more fracking in Britain until the health and environmental impacts are fully understood."

In 2010, a DECC-commissioned British Geological Survey (BGS) study, by analogy with the productivity of Barnett Shale gas basin production in the US, estimated that the shale gas potentially recoverable resources could be 150 billion cubic meters of gas (5.3 trillion cubic feet). This equates to almost 2 years of UK gas consumption (86 billion cubic meters in 2009).