The UK government's policy of support for shale gas extraction ended in November 2019 with the imposition of a moratorium on fracking (hydraulic fracturing) in England, and an admission that the policies to manage induced seismicity were insufficient. However, ambiguities remain regarding its scope, despite attempts at clarification. The concept of fracking to improve hydrocarbon production has evolved from defining a specific engineering process, using high volumes of water, to encompass other ‘unconventional’ methods to achieve the same end. We resolve the various definitions in a scientific, technical, regulatory and legislative context, robustly define unconventional extraction methods (circumventing the need to identify and quantify the various technologies available), and advocate the precautionary principle in drafting and interpreting regulations. Policy should be driven by the engineering of the bulk physical characteristics of the target rock, rather than by the current definitions based on injected fluid volume. To meet climate change concerns, the moratorium should be converted into a ban. In the interim, we argue that, in order to comply with the government's policy of ensuring safe and sustainable operations, the moratorium should be extended to all well stimulation treatments for unconventional hydrocarbon extraction, including acid stimulation.

英国政府对页岩气开采的支持政策于2019年11月结束，英国暂停执行压裂（水力压裂）措施，并承认管理诱发地震活动的政策不足。但是，尽管试图进行澄清，但在范围上仍存在歧义。压裂以提高碳氢化合物产量的概念已经从定义特定的工程流程（使用大量的水）发展到包含其他“非常规”方法以达到相同的目的。我们在科学，技术，法规和法律背景下解析各种定义，稳健地定义非常规提取方法（避免了对可识别和量化各种可用技术的需求），在起草和解释法规时提倡预防原则。政策应由目标岩石的总体物理特征的工程设计驱动，而不应由基于注入流体量的当前定义来驱动。为了满足对气候变化的关注，应将禁令转变为禁令。在此期间，我们认为，为了遵守政府确保安全和可持续运营的政策，应将禁令扩展到所有用于非常规烃开采的油井增产措施，包括酸增产。暂停应被转换为禁令。在此期间，我们认为，为了遵守政府确保安全和可持续运营的政策，应将禁令扩展到所有用于非常规烃开采的油井增产措施，包括酸增产。暂停应被转换为禁令。在此期间，我们认为，为了遵守政府确保安全和可持续运营的政策，应将禁令扩展到所有用于非常规烃开采的油井增产措施，包括酸增产。