OXFORDSHIRE’S Green Party MEP has slammed new tax breaks for fracking companies announced by Chancellor George Osborne But the fracking industry was given a surprise ‘boost’ by an Oxfordshire environmental group which said: “We cannot necessarily have green fields everywhere.”

Brian Wood, chairman of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England’s Oxfordshire branch, appeared to accept the tax breaks.

He said: “We have to accept that we have to run the country.

“We cannot necessarily have green fields everywhere.”

Shale gas “pad” allowance will reduce the rate of tax for shale gas and oil production to 30 per cent, compared to 62 per cent for the rest of the oil and gas industry, it was announced last Thursday.

The Oxford Mail has revealed that a 347 sq m expanse in the north of Oxfordshire has been identified as a possible source of shale gas by the British Geological Survey. Next year the Government will launch its latest round of onshore licensing for shale gas exploration in the UK, including that area – covering Banbury, Bicester and Kidlington.

MEP Keith Taylor, who has been campaigning against shale gas extraction, said: “These tax breaks for companies wanting to carve up the Oxfordshire countryside fly in the face of reason.

“Residents across Oxfordshire will no doubt be deeply concerned about these new incentives being given out to fracking companies.

“Rather than locking us into a future of fossil fuel dependence the Government should be doubling its efforts to support renewable, clean and safe energy from the sun, wind and sea.”

The Government said the tax breaks would help create ‘a fertile ground for shale to prosper’ and support the industry in the ‘critical’ exploration phase.

The United Kingdom Onshore Operators Group (UKOOG), which represents UK onshore oil and gas companies, has offered £100,000 to local communities for each exploratory well drilled, and a one per cent cut of revenues during the production stage.

But opponents of drilling for shale gas warn it is dangerous and environmentally damaging.

In the United States, where the discovery of huge reserves of shale gas are said to be transforming the economy, there are claims that water reserves were polluted in the wake of ‘fracking’ operations.

‘Fracking’ is a method of shale gas extraction that involves drilling deep into the ground and pumping water, sand and chemicals into rock to fracture it and release reserves of gas and oil.

Director of Oxford University’s Natural Gas Production research Howard Rogers said in his recent paper entitled UK Shale Gas – Hype, Reality and Difficult Questions that the future debate around fracking was likely to centre on economic benefits versus visual impact on the environment.

Speaking to members of the onshore gas industry on Thursday, Minster for Energy Michael Fallon said the UK development of shale gas would be “significantly different to the United States”.