Drilling Extension Sought for U.K.'s First Fracking Project

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GALWAY, IRELAND--August 14, 2019--Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The developer behind the U.K.'s only shale gas exploration project is to seek permission to continue drilling at its Lancashire fracking site until 2021.

Shale gas company Cuadrilla Resources (Lichfield, England) has announced that it wants Lancashire County Council to grant it extra time to drill for shale gas at its controversial Preston New Road (PNR) site after its November deadline. To date, just one of the four planned wells has been drilled.

Chief Executive Officer Francis Egan said: "I would like to share our intention to formally request a variation to one of the conditions of the Preston New Road site planning permission. The condition requires all drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations to be completed within a period of 30 months from the date of commencement of the drilling of the first well. This would in effect require drilling and hydraulic fracturing to conclude by the end of November 2019. By the end of November 2019, we are in fact likely to have spent no more than 21 months in total drilling or fracturing on site since the commencement of drilling Well PNR1."

He said the licence extension would allow additional time for drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations but not to change either the existing approved work scope to drill and hydraulically fracture up to four wells at PNR or the requirement for the site to be decommissioned and restored by April 2023.

In February, Industrial Info reported that that flow-testing of the U.K.'s first-ever horizontal shale oil and gas exploration well at PNR confirmed a "rich reservoir" of recoverable, high-quality natural gas present. The well, drilled through the shale rock more than 7,500 feet beneath the PNR exploration site revealed "excellent results" Cuadrilla confirmed. For additional information, see February 19, 2019, article - 'Rich Reservoir' of Shale Gas Discovered in the U.K..

Egan added: "Natural gas extracted from the shale beneath Lancashire would be far more environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial than the alternative of importing gas from around the world either in tankers as liquefied natural gas or cross continents by long distance pipeline. For this reason, I am hoping our request to vary this planning condition will be approved."

The U.K.'s shale gas resources are considerable according to the British Geological Survey, which estimates that the Bowland-Hodder (Carboniferous) shale gas play in the North of England ("Bowland Shale") contains 1,329 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of shale gas in place. The U.K.'s annual consumption of gas is around 2.5 Tcf, and according to the figures from U.K. Onshore Oil and Gas, "just 10% of the gas in place in the Bowland Shale would be sufficient for 50 years of U.K. gas consumption." The country currently relies on gas imports for about half of its demand. However, fracking in the U.K. faces considerable pushback from the public and environmental groups as well as being subject to very strict and restrictive regulations. Drilling at PNR was stopped recently after a tremor associated with drilling exceeded the very low magnitude level of 0.5 on the Richter scale.

The government's first shale gas Commissioner, Natascha Engel, resigned after just six months in the job in April, complaining that despite the enormous potential, developing the industry in the current anti-fracking atmosphere was "an impossible task." She explained: "A perfectly viable and exciting new industry that could help meet our carbon reduction targets, make us energy secure and provide jobs in parts of the country that really need them is in danger of withering on the vine -- not for any technical or safety reasons, but because of a political decision."

She also called the 0.5 magnitude tremor limit on drilling "a de facto ban."

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