The government is standing firm in its argument – disputed by campaigners and some academics – that the risks of high-volume fracking for shale gas are greater than for lower-volume operations.

The latest formal statement came this week in a written parliamentary answer from the energy minister, Michael Shanks, to a question from the Green Party Westminster leader, Ellie Chowns.

She asked whether the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero had:

“made an assessment of the potential implications for her Department’s policies on low-volume hydraulic fracturing of the report entitled, ‘Hydraulic fracturing and seismicity risks in the UK’ by Professor Stuart Haszeldine of the University of Edinburgh published 20 March 2026.”

Professor Haszeldine’s report said evidence showed “that earthquakes from large volume fracking and small volume fracking are equally large and equally unpredictable. Regulatory permission for low volume fracking does not remove the risk of unpredictable earthquakes.”

Mr Shanks replied:

“The government has considered Professor Haszeldine’s statement on hydraulic fracturing and seismicity.

“The statement relies heavily on data from shale gas extraction, which is different from low-volume hydraulic fracturing (LVHF) in conventional reservoirs for a number of reasons and cannot be directly compared. The government therefore continues to distinguish fracking for shale gas from other types of LVHF.”

The minister’s answer backs up the government’s view that the moratorium in England on high-volume fracking should not be extended to lower-volume operations.

The moratorium, introduced in 2019, has a presumption against fracking that uses more than 1,000m3 of fluid in a single fracking stage or 10,000m3 in total.

This excludes other fracking operations, sometimes called proppant squeeze or reservoir stimulation, that use less fluid.

Opponents of onshore oil and gas operations have argued since 2019 that the exclusion of lower-volume fracking from the moratorium is a legal loophole that should be closed. They were disappointed that the issue would not be dealt with in the Energy Independence Bill, introduced to parliament last week.

Lower-volume fracking is currently controversial in Yorkshire.

Rathlin Energy has permission for the operation at the West Newton-A site, in Holderness, East Yorkshire. A legal challenge is underway to the site’s environmental permit.

Europa Oil & Gas is seeking to overturn a planning refusal of its plan for lower-volume fracking at Burniston, near Scarborough, in North Yorkshire.

Alison Hume, the MP for Scarborough and Whitby, which includes Burniston, has said she will introduce an amendment to the Energy Independence Bill to outlaw lower-volume fracking.

• More on fracking at Burniston in our report on challenges to the Environment Agency