Video: US-style shale gas energy bonanza unlikely despite end of fracking ban The UK is unlikely to enjoy the benefits of the cheap gas energy revolution seen in the US, despite the announcement that the ban on 'fracking' has been lifted. One of the main barriers to that would be that gas prices on international markets are actually very volatile, and the UK might not want to rely too heavily on natural gas. Fracking, of Hydraulic Fracturing to use the technical term, is a method used to extract natural gas from shale rock formations in which it is trapped. Engineers drill a hole deep into the rock where the gas is trapped, and then inject a mixture of sand, water and chemicals into the hole at an extremely high pressure. This causes the rock to split, releasing the gas into the well so that it can be brought up to the surface. Environmental groups and rural communities are concerned the landscape could be scarred and polluted by the process.