Scottish government places moratorium on fracking, citing need for more research. Photo by Steve Oehlenschlager/Shutterstock EDINBURGH, Scotland, Jan. 29 (UPI) — The Scottish government will take a cautious look at shale oil and gas extraction during a moratorium period, the energy minister said Thursday. “I am announcing a moratorium on the granting of planning consents for all unconventional oil and gas developments, including fracking,” Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said in a statement. The ban comes as those in the British government press ahead with its shale ambitions despite frustration surrounding the frontier natural gas sector. Authorities in Lancashire County in England, said to hold vast shale natural gas deposits, are reviewing drilling applications submitted by Cuadrilla Resources. Ewing said the moratorium was enacted so Scottish legislators could take time to review public health or other concerns associated with hydraulic fracturing, known also as fracking. “We recognize that local […]