Cuadrilla Resources Ltd released the following statement today (17/12/13) about the decision to close its fracking site at Preese Hall in Lancashire.

“As part of its ongoing evaluation of its exploration sites in Lancashire, Cuadrilla has today announced that no further work will take place at its Preese Hall site, near Weeton. The company will apply for an extension to the current planning permission, in order to allow time to seal the well and return the site to its former condition.
The company has also published details of its proposed programme to restore the Anna’s Road site, near Westby, to its prior condition, as announced earlier this year. Restoration work at Anna’s Road will be completed by the end of July 2014, at which point the site will be restored to its original greenfield status.
Following on from recent public information events held in the Fylde, the company expects to be in a position to announce its proposed new sites for the next stage of its exploration programme early in 2014.”

When asked why the site was to close, a company spokesman said: “We are continually evaluating our exploratory programme. Since we drilled the well at Preese Hall, we have obtained a wealth of new data about the local geology. Given that our existing consent at Preese Hall is close to expiry, we have decided to prioritise new horizontal wells that will provide better data about the amount of gas that can be recovered from the shale rock.”