IN his autumn statement, George Osborne announced more financial support for companies extracting shale gas.

He said we must be prepared to push the boundaries of scientific endeavour in controversial areas like exploration for shale gas.

The Chancellor compared it to the beginnings of the oil industry and said: “The country that was the first to extract oil and gas from deep under the sea should not turn its back on new sources of energy like shale gas because it’s all too difficult.”

The Chancellor announced a new tax allowance to encourage investment in shale gas that will see tax rates on early profits halved.

The energy minister Michael Fallon added: “We now know we are sitting on top of an awful lot of shale gas so this is to encourage companies to explore now, to drill and to get down there and see if they can get it out.”

This pledge will be welcomed by companies such as Cuadrilla, who carried out exploratory drilling in Balcombe, Sussex, but not by the protestors who laid siege to the site in the summer.