Cluff Natural Resources puts Firth of Forth gas extraction plan on hold

Cluff Natural Resources wants to build the UK's first deep offshore UCG plant to exploit coal seams under the Forth

Plans to extract gas by unconventional means from under the Firth of Forth have been put on hold until political debate on the method is resolved.

Cluff Natural Resources said it was halting work while the SNP ministers decide on their approach.

Campaigners want Cluff's development of underground coal gasification (UCG) included in a moratorium on fracking.

A review of Scotland's energy needs is under way and the issue may be debated at the SNP's autumn conference.

In an exchange of private letters between Alex Cluff, the chairman and chief executive, and Scottish infrastructure secretary Alex Neil, which was later made public, the minister made clear that he did not see UCG developments as being included in the moratorium on shale fracking as well as coal-bed methane.

Despite that, the public campaign is seen as having "the ability to impact the development of the Kincardine Project," Cluff's UCG plan for the inner estuary.

Mr Cluff told shareholders: "We have deemed it prudent to await clarity on these matters before committing fully to, in particular, the expense of an environmental impact study.

"As a result, work on a planning application will likely be postponed until after such time as the political situation is more certain.

"Preparatory work including site selection studies, modelling and design work are, however, well under way."

The fracking method of extracting gas is fiercely opposed by campaigners

The energy entrepreneur still hopes to persuade Scottish government ministers to see his plans as fitting in with their own political ambitions.

He said: "In our judgment the gasification of the coal contained under these licences would represent a major advance towards Scottish energy self-sufficiency and is therefore entirely consonant with the concept of Scottish independence."

Mr Cluff said central government should take over planning decisions on energy projects from local authorities, warning that a local block would turn some areas into "industrial wastelands".

He also challenged the UK government on the spread of offshore windfarms in the southern North Sea, where he said they could impede the development of new gas resources in those offshore areas.

Cluff reported a loss of £745,000 for the first half of this year, down from £809,000 in the same part of 2014.

Lang Banks, director of environment lobby group WWF Scotland, said: "People power is clearly working, and it's now clear that Cluff's plans are in real trouble.

"If Cluff is so convinced its plans will have no impact on the climate and wider environment, then it should be actively encouraging the scrutiny of the technology as part of the Scottish government's existing examination of other unconventional fossil fuels."