* CCS industry needs to develop alongside shale
* Shale gas production unlikely for 4-5 years
* Pilot study needed to check emissions
LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Britain should use revenues fromthe shale gas industry to help fund the development of projectsthat capture carbon dioxide emissions and store themunderground, a shale gas industry-funded task force said onWednesday.
Britain is estimated to have substantial amounts of shalegas trapped in underground rocks and Prime Minister DavidCameron has promised to go "all out for shale", hoping it willhelp reduce dependence on energy imports and generate additionaltax revenue.
But if Britain forges ahead with shale development it willneed to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) to make sure itcan still meet emission reduction targets, the report by theTask Force on Shale Gas said.
"If a shale gas industry begins to develop at scale, CCS(carbon capture and storage) will become essential, and a CCSindustry should be developed and grown concurrently," it said.
CCS technology has so far failed to live up to early hopesof wide adoption to slow climate change.
After many years of research, Saskatchewan Power opened theworld's first coal-fired power plant retrofitted with CCS lastyear, but European utilities have struggled.
Chris Smith, chair of the task force, said it will take 4-5years before any shale gas is extracted and that by then CCStechnology should have progressed.
Britain's government has committed one billion pounds fortwo CCS projects, one on a gas plant and one on a coal plant.
The gas project, being developed by Shell and SSE in Peterhead, Scotland, could be up and running by theend of the decade.
The report also said pilot studies should be set up to get afull picture of how many emissions are generated during theextraction process.
Hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, which injectswater, sand and chemicals into rocks to release hydrocarbons, isused to release the shale gas from rock formations.
Studies have shown than methane, which is a powerfulgreenhouse gas, can leak from fracking wells.
The report said a so called "green completion process"should be mandatory on all fracking wells to capture themethane.
The task force was set up last year to examine the risks andbenefits of shale gas extraction and says it is independent ofits funders -- Cuadrilla, Centrica, Total,Weir Group, Dow Chemical and GDF Suez E&PUK. (Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Mark Potter)
