Speaking in the House of Commons, she said the government would consider a bespoke regulator for the shale gas sector if and when it develops, as set out on the shale gas task force’s 2015 report.
“I can absolutely assure that we will keep the regulatory regime under review to make sure that it remains fit for purpose,” she said.
In the report, the task force also called for independent monitoring of shale exploration sites to ensure any indication of a failure of well integrity can be identified and remedied quickly.
Leadsom said: “I entirely agree, and that is why we are already grant-funding baseline monitoring in North Yorkshire and Lancashire.”
The government recently offered the fracking industry a further boost by offering 159 onshore blocks to successful applicants under the 14th Onshore Oil and Gas licensing round.
“Now is the time to press ahead and get exploration underway so that we can determine how much shale gas there is and how much we can use,” Leadsom said at the time.
The Tory government has been widely recognised as a staunch supporter of shale gas exploration since Prime Minister David Cameron’s now-famous line “we’re going all out for shale gas”.
Chancellor George Osborne reiterated support in his Autumn Statement, saying the Treasury would double spending on energy research with a large proportion of this supporting the creation of the shale gas industry.
Three shale exploration firms have fracking applications under review in the UK. Cuadrilla has two applications under appeal to the Secretary of State. Civil servants have warned that the appeal process could take “at least 16 months”, and in November the government announced that the appeals would be determined by communities secretary Greg Clark.
IGas has applied for planning permission to monitor groundwater and drill exploratory shale gas wells across four locations near Springs Road in Nottinghamshire. Also under review is a separate scoping request for a site at Tinker Lane near Blyth in Nottinghamshire.
Third Energy has an application to frack its existing KM8 well, an extension of its operations in Ryedale, North Yorkshire. The application was delayed after North Yorkshire County Council announced it had launched a further re-consultation period of 21 days.