THE chief operating officer of a UK resources company this week explained details of a proposed project in the Firth of Forth he believes would help meet the nation’s petrochemical and energy needs.

Cluff Natural Resources PLC (CNR) is in the process of planning an underground coal gasification (UCG) project near Kincardine and Grangemouth.

UCG is a technique that has been in development since the early 20th century, and it produces so-called synthesis gas (syngas) by partially igniting coal seams deep underground, where they cannot be mined conventionally.

If trials of the process are successful and commercially viable it could signal the beginning of future offshore developments to come.

Cluff supremo Andrew Nunn predicts the new project could kick-start “North Sea 2.0” in the long run. Younger, offshore coal seams are much thicker, says Nunn, who explained the oil industry drilled right through the coal to get to the ‘black gold’.

In the future, his company may look to return to the same sites and extract gas using some of the infrastructure already in place.

He said: “The longer-term aim for UCG is to go back to the North Sea as the oil exploration winds down, use the existing pipelines and the existing rigs, go back into the coal and use UCG there.

“If it works, it could be like rediscovering the North Sea all over again. The effect on Scotland’s energy, Britain’s energy and Europe’s energy would be extraordinary.

“There’s a significant amount of engineering and commercial work to be done before that’s viable; however, if we can get it right, the offshore UCG potential in the UK is absolutely massive.” First, the company, which was founded by experienced investor and operator Algy Cluff – known for exploring the North Sea for oil and Africa for gold – is looking to find a suitable site and secure an approval of their plans for the nearshore Kincardine project. Nunn says CNR hopes to have an operating production test by late 2016 or early 2017. The long-term project would start a full commercial operation, after a feasibility study and more planning applications, by late 2019 or early 2020.

Syngas is a mix of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane and carbon monoxide. It can be used as feedstock for the petrochemical industry, one of the merits of the project is that this already exists in Grangemouth. The gas can also be used for producing energy and the project could serve the nearby Longannet Power Station.

The chief told the Advertiser he believes the technologies are in place, the process is well understood and the regulators in the country are tough – meaning that the project could work with minimal risks.

He also said that the UCG process is vastly different from so-called fracking, which met major opposition in the country with the UK Government’s Environmental Audit this week calling for a moratorium until it is proven safe.

But opponents are still sceptical.

Members of the local Clacks Against Unconventional Gas Extraction (CAUGE) were unconvinced by plans of CNR, who hope to get a fully operating project started by 2020 gasifying up to one million tonnes of coal per year under the Firth of Forth.

Janette McGowan said: “Having attended a conference recently hosted by Inner Forth Landscape Initiative and having heard about the tremendous amount of restoration work carried out by several conservation groups to improve the River Forth and its coastline over the last 40 to 50 years it is unthinkable to consider UCG on the seabed near Kincardine and Grangemouth.” She described how scientists and experts like Dr Donald McLuskie of Stirling University worked hard to regenerate the Forth in recent decades. In addition, the Forth is of special scientific interest for the protection of birds.

Janette added: “I doubt if any of these experts in their fields have been consulted regarding the impact of UGE. And as my group members have stated, given our rich landscape and shore line we should be focusing on renewable energies not destroying it with unnecessary and destructive fossil fuel extraction.” Prof. Andrew Watterson, of the occupational and environmental research group at Stirling University, argued that UCG has not yet made its case. He said: “The industry argues it is a better source of cleaner and less environmentally-damaging energy.

“Communities in England have indicated elsewhere that if UCG was linked to carbon capture they would be less concerned about it.

“The argument also goes that the process has been around for decades and so is OK, but it hasn’t in the form now being proposed.

“The latest technologies as far as I can see have not been fully evaluated and properly tried and tested on a large scale.” He added: “From my position, I’ve yet to see sufficient evidence from industry that would justify the process when other better alternative energy sources exist.” However, Andrew Nunn at CNR highlighted that going 100 per cent renewable won’t simply happen right away.

He said: “While the drive towards renewables is absolutely the right thing to do, we have to be realistic about the timeframes for their development.

“We must also be honest about the true costs to the UK and communities that are likely to arise from struggling to meet targets that are arbitrarily set in complete isolation from changing technical realities and economic development.” He explained that renewables, mainly wind, only account for 10-12 per cent of electricity production in the UK, adding that only an “extreme optimist” would think decorbanisation of the sector is possible in the next 60 years.