UK to open 20,000 sqkm area for shale drilling in 2014.

The UK government is ready to open an area the size of Wales for shale drilling next year, doubling the space available for exploration.

'A licensing round for onshore oil and gas exploration will offer as many as 150 blocks covering about 20,000 sqkm,' Simon Toole, head of licensing at the department of energy and climate change, said in London. 'There are about 170 onshore licenses currently.'

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