Boris Johnson: Let households own shale gas and oil beneath their land

British households should be given ownership of the oil and gas beneath their homes so that they have a commercial interest in supporting fracking. The Mayor of London said that the law should be changed so that mineral rights belonged to the landowner, rather than the Crown. Currently the Government grants licences to companies to explore for and produce oil and gas, while the owners of the land beneath which it lies have no right to share in the proceeds. Mr Johnson said the arrangement was a historical anomaly that was fuelling opposition to fracking and causing paralysis in attempts to explore for shale oil and gas resulting in Britain’s shale gas revolution failing to start.