The UK's Labour party has said it want to strengthen regulation of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. It planned to introduce a series of amendments to the infrastructure bill being debated in the House of Lords on Aug. 26.

While the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) asserts that existing rules or voluntary agreements for regulating shale gas exploration are sufficient, shadow industry minister Tom Greatrex, the shadow energy minister said Labour believes these do not go far enough.

The party is calling for baseline monitoring of methane levels in the groundwater over a 12-month period, along with environmental impact assessments for all fracking sites.

Decc said a series of measures had been put in place to ensure shale could be drilled safely and cover all the issues raised by Labour. "The disclosure of chemical composition of frack fluids is required for an environmental permit available for review in the public domain," it noted.

UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG) has promised that "appropriate" baseline monitoring of methane levels in groundwater will be conducted at every shale fracking site, and has also committed to conducting an environmental impact assessment when any fracking is proposed, according to Decc. Labour, however, contends that commitments from the industry "are not strong enough to reassure the public.

"Shale gas extraction must only be permitted to happen in the UK with robust regulation and comprehensive monitoring. Too often, David Cameron's government has ignored genuine and legitimate environmental concerns in pursuit of a rhetoric-led policy," said Greatrex.

The parliamentary opposition is also asking that water utility companies be consulted during the planning of shale wells. In July, the UK government kicked off a new licensing round for companies exploring for onshore oil and gas.

Petrochemicals giant Ineos said recently it would apply for an exploration license.