House of Commons – Jan. 26, 2015 – 139

New Clause 9— Moratorium on onshore unconventional petroleum ‘(1) All use of land for development consisting of the exploitation of unconventional petroleum in Great Britain shall be discontinued during the relevant period. (2) The Secretary of State must ensure that an independent assessment is undertaken of the exploitation of unconventional petroleum in Great Britain including the use of high volume hydraulic fracturing. (3) The assessment must take account of the impacts of the exploitation of the unconventional petroleum on— (a) climate change;

(b) the environment;

(c) health and safety;

and (d) the economy. (4) The Secretary of State must— (a) consult such persons as the Secretary of State thinks fit;

and (b) publish the assessment within the relevant period. (5) For the purposes of subsections (1) to (4)— “relevant period” means a period of not less than 18 months and not more than 30 months commencing on the date two months after Royal Assent;

“unconventional petroleum” means petroleum which does not flow readily to the wellbore. (6) In section 3 of the Petroleum Act 1998, at the end of subsection (4) add “and subsection (4A).