Cuadrilla resumes frack testing in Lancashire
15 Oct 2018
Cuadrilla has resumed fracking tests for gas at its site in Preston New Road, Lancashire after a seven-year suspension in activity.
It follows the recent failure of the last High Court legal challenge by campaigners opposed to the practice when Mr Justice Supperstone turned down an application injunction.
Two exploratory wells have been dug at a depth of some 1.5 miles, with tests due on multiple horizontal sections.
A combination of chemicals, sand and water will be introduced to fracture the rock and test whether shale gas is commercially viable.
Environmentalists have said they will continue to oppose all fracking work, pointing to the small earthquakes caused by the company at another site in Lancashire in 2011. This led to the temporary but lengthy ban.
Cuadrilla has undertaken to impose stricter checks on activity to guard against further tremors. It plans to open up as many as 100 sites over the next two to three decades.
Supporters of exploratory fracking have emphasised its potential in securing the UK’s gas requirements. Decline in traditional North Sea sources could see imports increase from half to two thirds of total supply, they say.
A British Geological Survey suggested just 10% of UK shale reserves would meet the country’s needs for four decades.
However, senior oil and gas analyst at GlobalData Will Scargill warned that, although beginning fracking is an important step for Cuadrilla, shale gas was still far from playing a significant role in the UK energy sector.
‘‘The government has put a lot of support behind the UK onshore sector in recent years, introducing the onshore tax allowance, licensing acreage and fast-tracking planning applications. In the end however, it will be technical and economic factors that determine whether shale gas is commercial and at what scale,” cautioned Scargill.
‘‘The first fracking activity at Preston New Road is expected to provide results early next year to give an idea of what volume of gas can be generated from these wells. Only from those results will Cuadrilla and the wider sector be able to understand whether there is commercial potential.”
