"Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has given his unequivocal backing to the divisive 'fracking' process used to extract shale gas from rocks, risking angering his party's supporters from more rural areas."

"Britain is thought to have major shale gas reserves which could help reverse a rising dependency on energy imports, but the energy industry is having to tread carefully to reassure a skeptical public and vocal environmental lobby.

Fracking for shale gas could help reduce energy bills, create jobs and provide extra funds for communities where the resource is found, Cameron wrote in an editorial in Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper on Monday."

Sarah Young reports for Reuters August 13, 2013. [2]