Expert’s gas drilling fearsPublished on Wednesday 29 February 2012 14:16
The drilling equipment used by Cuadrilla Resources at its site in Singleton"
Protestors say plans by Cuadrilla – the UK company licensed to explore Lancashire’s natural shale gas resources – would include up to 800 gas wells at some 80 sites.
The controversial extraction method, ‘fracking’, has already been blamed for two minor earthquakes at Preese Hall, Over Wyre.
Mr Hill, of Balmoral Road, St Annes, has warned the task and finish group of the worrying lack of regulation into shale gas drilling in this country.
And he said health problems in the USA, allegedly as a result of fracking, were just not scaremongering."
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HUNDREDS of people packed into a St Annes centre when a controversial shale gas drilling firm staged its first public information event on its activities in Fylde.Published on Wednesday 29 February 2012
Cuadrilla Resources’ invited folk to the Church Road Centre on Saturday - the first of three planned events.
The company has sites in Singleton, Weeton and Westby and has just unveiled plans to carry out a geophysical survey of the Fylde to detect where best to drill.
The firm has been slammed for its fracking process – pumping water under-ground at high speed to fracture the rock and release gas.
Outside, members of Residents Action on Fylde Fracking (Raff) handed out leaflets and asked people to sign a petition against further development at the sites.
The group’s Ian Roberts, of Hope Street, St Annes, said: “Our fear is there is no over arching scrutiny of this process, we want more expert input before anything is allowed to proceed which could damage our local environment.
“People are worried about pollution and tremors, and none of the people we’ve spoken to seem to have left this information day feeling reassured.”
Fracking at the sites is currently suspended while an investigation into local earth tremors is conducted by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
Dr David Roberts, of St Annes, said: “The whole process makes me feel very nervous. I have read about the potential impact on water supplies, including one suggestion the water can ignite.”
Another resident who attended but wished not to be named, said: “Our overall conclusion is that it seems as though this is going full steam ahead with little chance to be able to stop the economic juggernaut that Caudrilla will tempt the local council with. It would appear that the local residents will have to reside to the fact that this will bring economic benefit for 10-20 years to the Fylde area with little safeguard in knowing what the long term effects on the area, conservation and indeed house prices.”
A Cuadrilla spokesman said: “These information days are part of our policy of being open about what we do, demonstrating that everything Cuadrilla does is safe, worthwhile and carried out to a high standard. We really enjoyed talking about our work with visitors and were very pleased with the expressions of support we received from local people who came along[/i].”
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Fracking operation may restartPublished on Monday 16 April 2012 12:53
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A gas drilling operation halted after triggering earthquakes near Blackpool is likely to be restarted with rigorous controls aimed at preventing public alarm, it has been revealed.
The company involved has accepted stringent recommendations from Government-commissioned experts who say hydraulic fracturing should be allowed to continue at the Preese Hall well in Lancashire.
One of the provisos is that even a tremor too small to be noticed above ground should result in an immediate shutdown. Remedial action would then have to be carried out before work could be resumed again.
The independent report also calls for careful monitoring of the site using arrays of seismic sensors and steps to ensure excess pressure cannot build up beneath the ground. Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking", involves injecting high pressure water and chemicals into shale rock to release trapped natural gas.
Well operator Cuadrilla Resources estimates that the Bowland Basin prospect site in Lancashire contains as much as 200 trillion cubic feet of gas. Even if only a fraction of this can be extracted, it still represents a very significant energy resource.
On April 1 and May 27 last year, two small earthquakes - of magnitude 2.3 and 1.5 - occurred in the Blackpool area. No damage was caused, although a number of people called the police to report shaking. After a second tremor was linked to fracking, operation of the Cuadrilla exploration well was halted.
The report, commissioned by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), confirmed that the earthquakes were caused by fracking taking place in a geologically stressed and vulnerable area. Its authors said further fracking-induced earthquakes were possible. Even though these would be small - no higher than around magnitude three and unlikely to cause structural damage - the experts added: "Such an event would be strongly felt by people within a few kilometres from the epicentre and could cause some alarm."
Environmental group Friends of the Earth remains strongly opposed to fracking for shale gas. Executive director Andy Atkins said: "We don't need earth tremor-causing fracking to meet our power needs - we need a seismic shift in energy policy."
Cuadrilla chief executive Mark Miller said: "We are pleased that the experts have come to a clear conclusion that it is safe to allow us to resume hydraulic fracturing, following the procedures outlined in the review. Many of today's recommendations were contained in the original expert studies we published in November last year, and our supplementary information sent to DECC in January. We have already started to implement a number of them in the pursuit of best practice."
A DECC spokesman said: "No decision has been taken on whether to allow fracking to resume at Cuadrilla's sites in Lancashire. We are grateful to the authors of the report and have launched a call for evidence to give people a chance to express their views on the report."
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