Work begins at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site in Lancashire. Photo: Ros Wills

DrillOrDrop’s monthly digest of news about fracking, shale and onshore oil and gas

Top headlines in January 2017

• Cuadrilla begins work at its Preston New Road site near Blackpool
• Opponents organise rolling road protests – six arrests 
• INEOS reveals plans for shale gas exploration at Marsh Lane in Derbyshire
• Lincolnshire North Council refuses permission to Egdon Resources for oil production at Wressle
• Advertising watchdog warns Friends of the Earth over anti-fracking leaflet
• Campaigners urge Third Energy to publish its accounts on time
• Arrests at Angus Energy’s Brockham site
• Scottish government launches public consultation over fracking
• Shale industry publishes visualisation – opponents say it’s misleading
• Manchester to hear legal challenges to ministerial decisions on Lancashire fracking

Click here for the current month’s headlines

31 January 2017

Fracking in Derbyshire. The tale of two exhibitions. DrillOrDrop report on exhibitions by INEOS shale and its opponents in the village of Marsh Lane. The Star (Residents protest at fracking plans for Derbyshire village)

Photos from lock-on protest outside Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road shale gas site near Blackpool in DrillOrDrop’s Protest Weekly Update.

Photo: Ian Crane

Four-month public consultation on fracking in Scotland underway. The National is among most papers to report on the start of a four-month public consultation on fracking. The Scottish Government is expected to make a decision by the end of the year on whether to lift the moratorium on fracking. Consultation website. Other reports: Reuters, BBC News, Herald Scotland, Energy Voice (consultation and Scottish Conservatives criticism)

YP Letters: MP must put up a better defence of fracking. Wendy Cross, writing in The Yorkshire Post, criticises Scarborough MP Robert Goodwill for defending fracking because a resident at the Kirby Misperton Protection Camp was photographed smoking.

7,000 strong petition calling for fracking ban. The Leitrim Observer reports that the chair of the Irish Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action has agreed to receive a petition against onshore fracking with more than 7,000 signatures. A briefing on a bill to outlaw fracking will be held from 2.15pm-3pm, on Wednesday 1 February 2017.

Europa Oil & Gas Ltd applies for an environmental permit for the Crosby Warren Wellsite. Environment Agency public consultation. More details coming soon from DrillOrDrop

30 January 2017

Complaints to advertising watchdog over INEOS fracking supplement. DrillOrDrop report

Companies update. DrillOrDrop report on Egdon Resources licence stake, legal challenge and funding Cuadrilla’s fracking site and IGas offer to bondholders.

Thousands oppose fracking in Derbyshire as area around Derby villages is explored. The Derby Telegraph reports that opposition is growing to fracking in Derbyshire. Organisers of a petition say it has been signed by more than 70,000, of whom 30,000 are from Derbyshire.

Yorkshire Coast Residents Warned About Fracking. Yorkshire Coast Radio reports on a meeting by Frack Free Bridlington at Bempton and Buckton village hall yesterday.

New anti-fracking group set up in Haxby and Wigginton. Minster FM reports on Haxby and Wigginton Against Fracking, the newest group formed to fight fracking in the area. The group’s first event is a film screening of Groundswell Rising on Friday 3 February at Haxby and Wigginton Methodist Church Hall Almost all of the City of York is licensed for petroleum exploration, the radio station says.

YP Letters: Fracking: Look at research, decide for yourself. Di Keal, of Frack Free Ryedale, responds in the Yorkshire Post to comments by Lorraine Allanson. Ms Keal says the shale gas industries relies on conclusions of the report by the Royal Society, which dates back to 2012. More than 80 per cent of published peer-reviewed research into fracking has been published since then and 84% of studies on health showed potential risk or actual adverse health outcomes. “At Frack Free Ryedale, we are content to point people to the most recent research and allow them to decide for themselves”, Ms Keal says.

UK ‘need not fear electricity blackouts’ says ex-National Grid boss. BBC News reports comments by Steve Holliday, the former head of National Grid, who told the Today programme that the UK has enough capacity to meet demand even on the coldest days when demand is highest. He said news stories raising fears about blackouts should stop. The latest capacity auction begins today in which stand-by generators will be for subsidies to provide back-up power when needed.

29 January 2017

What’s happening this week? 30 January-5 February 2017. DrillOrDrop event listing

Weekly protest update: 23-29 January 2017. DrillOrDrop round-up of protests about fracking and onshore oil and gas in the UK.

Warning: noise from fracking can seriously damage your health. The Sunday Herald reports on a new study by US universities and research institutes which found noise from fracking could cause sleep deprivation, stress and heart disease in surrounding communities. Researchers said noise pollution was a well-documented public health hazard, linked to depression, diabetes and learning difficulties in children. “Policies and mitigation techniques that limit human exposure to noise from oil and gas operations should be considered to reduce health risks, they said. Professor Andrew Watterson, an environmental health expert at University of Stirling, said the effects of noise – from transport to machinery in production should be taken more seriously.

Science is not on the side of fracking. The Herald, in an opinion column, says “It seems difficult to justify opening up a new fossil fuel frontier by fracking, particularly when the country is trying to decarbonise its energy supply. Science is not on the side of fracking in Scotland, and in an age of “alternative facts” the truth should be heeded.

28 January 2017

Fracking Week in Westminster: 23-27 January 2017. DrillOrDrop report on what politicians said about fracking and shale gas in the UK’s parliaments.

Government facing legal action over failure to fight climate change. The Independent reports lawyers from Client Earth say ministers are in breach of the legal requirement to come up with a plan to make major cuts in the UK fossil fuel emissions for years. The UK has agreed to cut emissions by 57% by 2032 but is currently nowhere near meeting that goal. The government’s Emissions Reduction Plan was supposed to have been ready at the end of last year but publication was delayed until February and then again March. The Independent says the business department is no longer standing by this latest deadline and Client Earth is considering legal action.

LETTERS: Frack Free Wakefield agrees with scientific evidence against the process. Yvonne Sibbald, of Frack Free Wakefield, writes to the Pontefract and Castleford Express to challenge claims made by Andy Shaw in the previous week’s paper. She says: “The only winners from fracking will be the oil and gas companies. We all want good jobs and economic growth. Investing in renewable energy is the right way to achieve this. Gambling with our health and wellbeing is too big a risk to take, for very limited gains. Fracking has been banned or suspended in Scotland, Wales, Bulgaria the Netherlands and several US states. Should this not give the British public grave cause for concern?”

27 January 2017

Update on Angus Energy’s Brockham site: Rig down, potential reservoirs announced and the reason for 24-hour working. DrillOrDrop report

Photo: Jon O’Houston

Time is running out for eight UK oil and gas projects. DrillOrDrop report on permissions nearing expiry.

Thousands oppose Derbyshire fracking plan. The Star reports that more than 67,000 have signed a petition against fracking at Marsh Lane, Eckington. ITV News reports that residents in Marsh Lane are taking on the chemical company, INEOS, which has a worldwide turnover of $40bn.

Ireland passes law to become world’s first country to fully divest from fossil fuels. The Independent reports Ireland has voted to be the world’s first country to full divest public money from fossil fuels. The bill, passed by 90 to 53, will drop coal, oil and gas investments from the £6.8bn Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, part of the country’s National Treasury Management Agency. It is likely to become law in the next few months.

North Sea leak ‘worrying development’. BBC News reports on a leak below the seabed of a gas well drilled from the Elgin B platform. WWF Scotland said “This is a worrying development, as this is the not the first time Total has had problems at its Elgin-Franklin field. Only a few years ago, a leak on its platform complex led to an emergency evacuation and a halt to production for almost a year. “Protecting staff and the marine environment should always be priority number one for the oil and gas industry. Given the previous problems at this site, serious questions need to be asked by the relevant authorities as to what is going on.”

LETTERS: Frack Free Wakefield agrees with scientific evidence against the process. Yvonne Sibbald, of Frack Free Wakefield, writes to the Pontefract and Castleford Express to challenge claims made by Andy Shaw in the previous week’s paper. She says: “The only winners from fracking will be the oil and gas companies. We all want good jobs and economic growth. Investing in renewable energy is the right way to achieve this. Gambling with our health and wellbeing is too big a risk to take, for very limited gains. Fracking has been banned or suspended in Scotland, Wales, Bulgaria the Netherlands and several US states. Should this not give the British public grave cause for concern?”

26 January 2017

Manchester to hear all legal challenges to Cuadrilla fracking rulings – against government wishes. DrillOrDrop report. Blackpool Gazette (28/1/2017)

Council won’t take action over lorry breaches at Cuadrilla fracking site. DrillOrDrop report

Mapped: How Fracking Lobbyists From the UK and America Have Infiltrated Parliament. DeSmog UK reports that fracking companies donated thousands of pounds to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Unconventional Oil and Gas in 2016. The website says many of the donors were involved in the shale gas industry, including in the UK. DeSmog UK has mapped the key connections between donors to the APPG and Britain and America’s corporate fracking interests.

DeSmog

Oil ‘will flow for 30 more years’. The Times reports on BP latest Energy Outlook report which says the world has access to more than twice as much oil as it will need between now and 2050 which will dampen the long-term outlook for prices. The report estimated that more than 2.5 trillion barrels of oil have been discovered worldwide and technically could be extracted. Other coverage: The Guardian (Electric cars will not stem global demand for oil, says BP).

‘WE WILL NOT GIVE UP’: Residents vow to stop fracking in Derbyshire village. The Derbyshire Times reports on a public meeting about fracking in Marsh Lane where residents turned out in droves. The paper says demand for information was so greater that a second community centre had to be opened to accommodation villagers.

Eckington fracking proposal: company to meet residents next week. Peak FM reports on exhibition by INEOS Shale on Tuesday next week.

More hot air over climate. Ian Conlan, of Frack Free Ryedale, writing in the Yorkshire Post, says INEOS, which has exploration licences in the area, has failed to draw attention to news that it had taken over Moorland Energy. He says INEOS has inherited oil and gas licences across the southern end of the North York Moors and an outstanding planning permission for a gas processing plant at Thornton Le Dale.

SDLP highlight six laws that will no longer change due to the collapse of the Stormont Assembly. Derry Now reports that a bill by Richie McPhillips for a statutory ban on fracking in Northern Ireland is one of six to be suspended because of the collapse of power sharing in the Stormont Assembly.

25 January 2017

Shale is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, INEOS tells the East Midlands. DrillOrDrop report on an 8-page local newspaper supplement on fracking

Council predicts battle ahead as it rejects first INEOS shale gas plan. DrillOrDrop report on the vote by Eckington Parish Council to oppose INEOS plans for shale gas exploration in the area. Derbyshire Times, Peak FM

Be a carbon capture early bird, not a pioneer, Jesse Norman says. Energy Voice reports comments by UIK energy minister, Jesse Norman, that Britain should be an “early bird” rather than a pioneer in the development of carbon capture and storage. During a debate in Westminster Hall, he said the government had by no means closed the door” to the technology and remained committed to tackling climate change. He also confirmed CCS is being considered as part of the new industrial strategy.

Energy minister grilled over delayed fracking call. Energy Voice also reports on a grilling for the Scottish Government’s energy minister, Paul Wheelhouse, over a decision on fracking. Launching the Scottish Government’s draft energy plan in Holyrood yesterday, he told MSPs the Scottish Government would “very shortly” launch a consultation on the technique.

275,000 people – and Friar Tuck – join campaign to save Sherwood Forest. Friends of the Earth says actor Phil Rose, who played Friar Tuck in the 1980s production Robin Hood has joined residents and people across the UK in opposing plans for shale gas exploration in Sherwood Forest. Two petitions, which have attracted more than 275,000 signatures, were delivered to the Department of the Environment today. Eastwood Advertiser, Nottingham Post

Anger at cost of fracking meeting. The Northern Echo reports North Yorkshire County Council spent £38,700 on defending its decision to allow fracking to go-ahead. A Freedom of Information by fracking support, Lorraine Allanson, revealed that the council received £15,000 in costs but had to spend the £38,700 in external legal costs. Ms Allanson said: ““I was shocked to find out how much our county council had to waste on defending its democratically-made decision. At a time when local services are under pressure and suffering cutbacks, it’s important that local council tax payers see their money spent where it makes a difference. The judicial review meant that funds were needlessly diverted away from communities where they would have been better spent.”

YP Letters: Conflict goes on over facts on fracking. The Yorkshire Post carries letters from both sides of the fracking debate. Lorraine Allanson (see above) accused Friends of the Earth and Frack Free Ryedale of creating fear, stress and anxiety in local communities. Michael Farman says the UK Environment Agency has limited experience of regulating high volume hydraulic fracturing, has lost funding and admits it will rely on companies signing off paper work. “I ask readers to decide for themselves whether it is safe to go ahead with this new and invasive technology that would spread across and beneath our vulnerable countryside.”

Members of the Green Party visited anti fracking group. The Gainsborough Standard reports that Natalie Bennett, former Green Party leader, and the Green Party candidate for an upcoming byelection at Dinnington in South Yorkshire visited Letwell anti-fracking group.

Protesters’ fears following takeover. The Gazette and Herald reports that opponents of fracking in Ryedale have expressed concern over the takeover by INEOS of Moorland Energy. The new company, INEOS 120 Energy Ltd, created in December, gives INEOS petroleum exploration and development licence blocks across the north of Ryedale from west of Helmsley to East Ayton. Campaigners are concerned that INEOS will revive plans for a gas processing plant at Thornton-le-Dale which received permission in 2010. INEOS said it would review permissions “in due course”.

Minister reassures MPs: Green Investment Bank will not be sold to an asset stripper. City Am reports Energy Minister, Nick Hurd, told MPs “no one has an interest in selling to an asset stripper”. He added: “We’ve run a competitive process, we’ve received a proposal from a preferred bidder which we are now evaluating against those criteria, and no decision has yet been taken.” The government has been criticised over the choice of Macquarie as the preferred bidder for the £4bn sell off.

24 January 2017

Photo: Ros Wills

Residents feel betrayed over failure to test for radon around Lancashire fracking site. DrillOrDrop report on lack of monitoring at Preston New Road as testing is underway near Kirby Misperton.

Youngsters hoping to blind judges with science. The Blackpool Gazette reports on the Young Engineers 2017 competition, sponsored by Cuadrilla and Centrica.

Awards chase is on for Lancashire’s top firms. The Chorley Guardian reports on the Be Inspired Business Awards (BIBA) awards, sponsored by Cuadrilla.

Trump acts to advance Keystone XL, Dakota Access pipelines. Fox News reports that President Trump has moved swiftly to advance the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines. He invited TransCanada, builder of the Keystone pipeline to resubmit its application to the State Department for a presidential permit. President Obama halted the pipeline in late 2015 saying it would undercut US efforts to reach a climate change detail. President Trump also ordered the US Army Corp of Engineers to review and approve construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. Financial Times and The Guardian

Scores of planned UK power plants could be scrapped after subsidy change. The FT reports comments from investors that more than 2,000MW of generating capacity could be in doubt if subsidies are withdrawn. Small gas and diesel-fired plants, each generating up to 20MW of electricity, have been encouraged by lucrative payments for generating at times of peak demand. A review of the payments by Ofgem is expected soon.

Fracking fluids cause ‘significant’ harm to fish: University of Alberta study. Global News reports on research by University of Albert that liquids released from fracked oil and gas wells can harm fish even at low concentrations.

23 January 2017

PM unveils plans for a modern industrial strategy fit for global Britain. 10 Downing Street announces the launch of proposals for a modern industrial strategy. The preview press release refers to upgrading energy infrastructure and delivering affordable energy and clean growth.

UK Government Could Delay Publication of Emissions Reduction Plan, Again. DeSmogUK reports that The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) appears to have pushed back the release date for a key document outlining its climate plans. BEIS initially promised the Emissions Reduction Plan would be delivered by the ‘end of 2016’. The BEIS minister for climate change, Nick Hurd, later revised that to the end of the first quarter of 2017. Now, buried on page 94 of 132 in a document released today on the government’s industrial strategy, is the suggestion this could be further delayed.

Government “tried to bury” its own alarming report on climate change. The Independent reports that the five-yearly assessment of what will happen to the UK as the world warms says one of any array of potential threats if the “significant risk” to supplies of food. But despite this the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment Report on 18 January with no speech, statement or tweets. No mainstream media organisation covered the report. Bob Ward, of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said “It’s almost as if they [the government] were trying to sneak it out without people realising”.

Revealed: New energy and business minister is former fracking boss. Greenpeace Energy Desk reports that Lord Prior, the new energy minister, spent six years as a director of Aurelian Oil and Gas. Greenpeace describes the company as a wildcat oil and gas firm that tried to cash in on fracking in Poland. He stepped down in 2013 when the company merged with competitor, San Lion, but for much of the time he was chairman or deputy chairman. The biography published by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, does not refer to his involvement with Aurelian.

Fears fracking company may revive gas processing plant plans in tourist village. The Northern Echo reports fears by campaigners that the takeover by INEOS of Moorland Energy and its licences could revive proposals for a gas processing plant, which has planning permission, near the tourist village of Thornton le Dale. Campaigners are also concerned that INEOS would be able to drill horizontally from the area to reach shale gas reserves under the North York Moors National Park. INEOS said it would review permissions in due course. The Press (27/1/2017)

Scot Gov has chance to “transform” energy sector. Energy Voice reports on the Scotland future energy taskforce, an independent panel of professionals and academics coordinated by WWF Scotland to inform Holyrood’s future plans. The taskforce released its recommendations ahead of the imminent publication of the government’s strategy paper. It calls for Scotland’s energy system to be decarbonised and for climate change targets to be hit by given deadlines. This would be met, in part, by electric buses and banning petrol and diesel cars in some areas.

French Parliament to discuss fracking ban. Natural Gas World reports the French Parliament is to consider an amendment of the mining code to ban any development of non-conventional hydrocarbons by any technique. The website says the bill may not be able to pass before the end of the legislative session at the end of February, before the presidential election in April and May.

Hidden Data Suggests Fracking Created Widespread, Systemic Impact in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Public Herald reports on the outcome of a three-year investigation which it says has uncovered evidence of widespread and systemic impacts relating to fracking. The Public Herald has analysed records of thousands of complaints to the Department of Environmental Protection submitted from 2004-2016. The data shows that the cumulative number of complaints rose in step with wells drilled. Over the past four years, the DEP received an average of three oil and gas complaints per business day.

Mining, fracking and construction are increasingly triggering earthquakes, researchers warn. Mail Online reports that research by Earth Science Review, which found 3.9% of induced earthquakes were caused by fracking and another 5% by waste fluid injection. Mining caused 37.4%, water reservoir impoundment 23.3% and conventional oil and gas 15%.

Out-of-towners don’t understand damage. Claire Smith, President of Stay Blackpool, writes to the Blackpool Gazette that opponents of fracking at Preston New Road and Kirby Misperton risk deterring visitors to the regions. She says: “We don’t want or need travelling campaigners causing upset and harming local businesses, and would politely ask them to stay away!”

22 January 2017

What’s happening this week? DrillOrDrop’s diary of events in the coming week

Weekly protest update. DrillOrDrop summary of protest activity across the UK in the past week

21 January 2017

Anti-Fracking campaigners bring Bolton based company A E Yates to a near standstill. Bolton Rise reports over 40 anti-fracking campaigners blocked the site entrance of Horwich-based civil engineering firm, A E Yates, in a protest on Friday afternoon. They demanded the company withdrew from its activities at Cuadrilla’s fracking site on Preston New Road, Little Plumpton, in Lancashire. Bolton News

Letters round-up. The Gazette and Herald publishes letters in favour and against fracking in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire and the protection camp at Kirby Misperton.

YP Letters. The Yorkshire Post has two letters supporting and opposing fracking for shale gas in North Yorkshire.

20 January 2017

Recent research round-up: January 2017. DrillOrDrop’s review of recent research on fracking and onshore oil and gas.

Fracking Week in Parliament: 16-20 January 2017. DrillOrDrop report on what politicians had to say about fracking in the past week.

19 January 2017

Oliver, 8, appeals to Theresa May to block fracking near his new Derbyshire home. DrillOrDrop report

Church fracking claim sparks online war. The Blackpool Gazette reports on Twitter discussions between fracking opponents and supporters about a Church of England report. Backing Fracking said the report backed fracking, which the Church of England disputed. Backing Fracking later accepted the report did not give outright backing but it would “influence policy in this area”.

P1916 offshore Isle of Wight licence extension. UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC announces that its 100% owned subsidiary UKOG Solent Limited has been granted a one-year extension to the initial term of the offshore licence p1916 to 31 January 2018. The company has a 100% interest in the licence, which UKOG says contains an undrilled Portland limestone conventional oil prospect, a look-alike to the nearby Arreton Portland oil discover in PEDL331.

Council chief’s apology over sand quarry plan. Frack Free Cheshire pastes photos of a press article on Cheshire East Council’s apology over a planning application for a silica sand quarry. The article is not yet online. The case involves a previous delegation of decision-making on the application to Cheshire West and Chester Council, which has since been rescinded.

Scottish Labour urges the SNP to introduce an outright ban on fracking ahead of draft Climate Change Plan. Holyrood reports comments by Labour’s Claudia Beamish that the plan “won’t be worth the paper it is written on if it doesn’t rule out fracking”. She said if the SNP did not include a ban then she will use her bill to change the law in Scotland.

No regard for the health of citizens. Andrew Barbour, writing in the Blackpool Gazette, says Cuadrilla intends to flare 130,000 cubic metres of methane and ethane gas every day at their proposed sites in the Fylde. He says research in US attributes a “long and alarming” list of health problems to normal and accidental operations of shale gas sites.

Ordinary folk need rights protecting. Brian Cope, also writing in the Blackpool Gazette, says protests outside Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site have resulted in: “Money was lost by local businesses, guests to a wake held in the local area were prevented from getting to the venue and life was put at risk as ambulances and other emergency services faced lengthy diversions”. He says he will continue to call for Lancashire Constabulary to use “all resources and legal options to defend the right of ordinary people to go about their business unhindered by such callous extremists”.

Look North report on fracking and tourism. BBC Look North speaks to Nicholas Howard, owner of Castle Howard, about his concerns that fracking in Ryedale will dissuade visitors to the area. The industry says shale gas can be produced sensitively.

YP Letters: Frankness needed over fracking row. Michael Roberts, one of the complainants to a leaflet by Friends of the Earth, tells the Yorkshire Post Friends of the Earth “have already misled people inn Lancashire over fracking and they seem to be doing the same in Yorkshire”.

Have the guts to create jobs and economic growth with fracking. Andy Shaw, writing in the Wakefield Gazette, criticises Wakefield Council for opposing fracking. He says: “Fracking could fuel a local boom and more broadly generate well paid jobs from new industries attracted by cheap energy. Well-paid engineering and maintenance jobs would be created for local people in our de-industrialised area which currently sees growth only in low paid, insecure jobs. Funding for local councils in shale gas areas of the UK would more than offset the current central government cuts. Come on Wakefield Council, get a grip and stop cow-towing to the scare-mongers.”

Opec braces for US shale threat to global oil deal. The Telegraph reports Opec’s plan to drain the flood of oil that continues to hold market prices down could be foiled by the steady return of US shale oil producers.

18 January 2017

Brockham oil field update. Angus Energy reports that it has completed upgrade work on production bunds at the Brockham site and well intervention continues. A statement said: “We anticipate the re-entry of the original Brockham-X1 wellbeing completed within the week with the work to complete and case the well taking 2 to 3 days thereafter.

17 January 2017

Residents get the chance to quiz regulators on Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road fracking site. DrillOrDrop report. Blackpool Gazette

Key arguments over Friends of the Earth’s dispute fracking leaflet. DrillOrDrop report

New row over Fylde fracking road block. The Blackpool Gazette reports on complaints by Preston New Road Action Group that Cuadrilla has breached planning and health and safety conditions by blocking Preston New Road.

Saudis claim victory over US shale industry and remain defiant on oil price spike. The Telegraph reports Saudi oil sheikhs insisted in Davos that they have defeated the challenge of the American shale industry and restored the balance to global markets after two years of glut.

Oil Bosses in Davos See Shale Rebound Capping 2017 Price Surge. Bloomberg Markets reports top oil industrial officials in Davos predict US shale oil will limit price increases and lead to a period of greater volatility.

ExxonMobil doubles US shale assets in £5.32bn deal. The Telegraph also reports that ExxonMobil has spent $6.6bn on a string of family-owned oil companies in the Permian oil basin in Texas.

Controversial Wales Bill is passed in the face of massive reservations from Labour and Plaid. Wales Online reports the way is now clear for the devolution of income tax varying powers, and new powers over fracking, energy projects, water and the Assembly’s own voting system.

Church of England releases new shale gas and fracking briefing paper. The briefing paper concludes that any development of shale gas reserves in the UK must not distract or delay efforts to expand low-carbon renewable energy (including community-owned energy) or other efforts to meet the UK’s long-term 2050 carbon reduction targets. It accepts that “a robust planning and regulatory regime is possible. Ongoing research into, and monitoring of, any impact on health and the environment is needed as part of that regime”. It calls for the concerns of affected individuals and communities to be heard. Link to full paper  The Guardian (18/1/2017), Green Party reaction (19/1/2017), Energy Voice and Church Times (20/1/2017)

An anti-fracking group has been formed in Totnes called Frack Free Totnes. Brixham Today reports on the formation of Frack Free Totnes after a lecture by film director, Ian Crane. The next meeting is on Sunday 29 January at 7pm at the Royal Seven Stars, Totnes.

Green Investment Bank’s assets must be protected. Catherine West, Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, writes to The Guardian saying ministers have refused to rule out investment in fracking projects by the future owner of the Green Investment Bank.

16 January 2017

Views sought on environmental permit for Doe Green coal bed methane site. DrillOrDrop report

Cautious welcome as fracking company leaves Belcoo. The Fermanagh Herald reports that the owners of a quarry earmarked for drilling by Tamboran in Belcoo had confirmed that the company had left the site. Leitrim Observer (17/1/2017)

Anti-fracking campaigners claim industry is presenting “Disney fairytale fantasy” of how drilling would affect North Yorkshire landscape. The Northern Echo picks up story about the shale gas industry’s visualisation (See also DrillOrDrop’s report)

YP Letters: Don’t be distracted by issues around fracking. Craig Bennett of Friends of the Earth writes to the Yorkshire Post puts his organisation’s case in the dispute with the Advertising Standards Authority over a fund-raising leaflet.

Letters – January 16, 2017. The Blackpool Gazette has two letters opposing fracking, from Dr Francis Rugman, of Wrea Green, and Cllr Gail Hodson, of West Lancashire District Council.

Chairman of Natural England board reappointed. The Environment Secretary, Andrea Leadsom, announces that Andrew Sells will continue as the chair of Natural England for another term, until 19 January 2020.

Banks and energy firms tipped to expect more state involvement in 2017. Energy Voice reports that energy companies should expect greater scrutiny this year as the Prime Minister taps into rising populism. The law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer says governments are expected to take a “more direct role in antitrust enforcement and public interest review in certain sectors, particularly those with signs of consumer dissatisfaction about price, service levels or responsible corporate behaviour.

Fracking near the Chesterfield Canal. Robin Stonebridge, of The Chesterfield Canal Trust, says the trust will oppose any activity that threatens to undermine the integrity of the canal or damage the natural history or heritage of the canal corridor. But before that, he said the trust needs to understand fully the science and technologies that underpin fracking to ensure its policy “covers all bases”.

15 January 2017

Visualisation: UK Onshore Oil and Gas

What will UK fracking look like? Shale industry releases visualisation – opponents say it’s misleading and unhelpful. DrillOrDrop report

What’s happening this week? 16-22 January 2017. DrillOrDrop events listing on fracking and onshore oil and gas

‘Meet the Frackers’: a Spinwatch lobbying tour. Spinwatch releases a film and report on the lobbyists in the fracking debate.

14 January 2017

Campaigns on fracking hot up in the East Midlands. DrillOrDrop report on actions by INEOS and anti-fracking groups in Derbyshire

Fracking Week In Parliament 9-13 January 2017. DrillOrDrop update on proceedings in parliament on shale gas and fracking

13 January 2017

Planning controlled by government and developers – new research.  DrillOrDrop report on a survey of 1,200 ward councillors in England by the Local Government Information Unit which found that 71% agreed or strongly agreed that “the planning system has become too weighted in favour of developers at the expense of local communities”.

Bury residents urged to send in views on notification of West Pennine Moors as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The Bury Times reports residents are being urged to give their views on the news that further parts of the West Pennine Moors could be given Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status. People have until March 17 to voice their opinions and concerns before Natural England will then decide whether to confirm or withdraw the notification. If the declaration goes ahead it would help protect the area from fracking. Link to consultation

12 January 2017

Have your say on health impacts of fracking. DrillOrDrop report

Warning over four-hour road closure after anti-fracking protest. The Blackpool Gazette reports police have warned anti-fracking protesters they face arrest if there is a repeat of yesterday’s partial closure of Preston New Road for four hours.

No fracking on council land. Simon Greaves, Leader of Bassetlaw District Council, reports on Twitter that he will outline proposals to rule out the use of council-owned land for fracking or activities linked to fracking.

Ineos hit with safety notice over accident prevention at Grangemouth. Energy Voice reports that INEOS has been given an improvement notice after being accused of failing to take “all measures necessary” to prevent major accidents at its site at Grangemouth. The petrochemical company, which received its first shipment of US shale to the facility in October last year, has till April to comply with the notice. It was issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

City analyst blasts council decision to block Wressle field development. Proactive Investors reports comments by SP Angel, which says North Lincolnshire Council overstepped their remit in turning down planning permission for Egdon’s oil production site.

Hereford and South Herefordshire MP, Jesse Norman, reveals on Twitter he is the new energy minister at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. He replaces Baroness Neville-Rolfe who has moved to the Treasury. He is the 18^th energy minister in 19 years. ReNews and Energy Voice (13/1/2017)

11 January 2017

Tears and cheers over refusal of Wressle oil production plans. DrillOrDrop reaction round-up from the meeting of North Lincolnshire planning committee

Breaking: Refusal of Egdon oil production plans at Wressle. DrillOrDrop report

Live updates from Wressle decision day. DrillOrDrop live reporting from the meeting of North Lincolnshire Council’s planning committee meeting on Egdon Resource’s Wressle oil production application

Other Egdon coverage: Scunthorpe Telegraph (Councillors hailed as ‘local heroes’ after turning down oil and gas drilling plans and Councillors reject bid to drill for oil and gas in North Lincolnshire, Egdon statement, Proactive Investors, London South East, StockMarketWire

Update on protests at Preston New Road on DrillOrDrop’s Protest weekly update

Fracking protesters vow to carry on roadside vigil. The Blackpool Gazette reports about 40 local people were again at Cuadrilla’s site on Preston New Road to demonstration opposition to plans for drill for shale gas. In a separate article The Blackpool Gazette reports Preston New Road was closed for a period for a protest against Cuadrilla’s fracking plans at the site.

Letters on energy and fracking. The Blackpool Gazette includes a letter from Nick Danby, from Inskip, near Cuadrilla’s proposed Roseacre Wood site, criticises a previous correspondent, Brian Coope, who described opponents of fracking as “law-breaking rent-a-mobs”. Another correspondent, J Bailie, invites Mr Coope to meet members of Frack Free Lancashire, described as “decent, responsible citizens”.

‘Fracking is here – so let’s get on with it’. The Lancashire Evening Post reports comments by Babs Murphy, chief executive of the North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, supporting the start of work at Cuadrilla’s shale gas site at Preston New Road: “This is a significant day for Lancashire. “The announcement means that local businesses are now in pole position to benefit from the shale gas supply chain opportunities that will ensue. “The establishment of this new industry will, without doubt, have positive economic implications for the area in terms of investment, jobs and security of energy supply to our manufacturing base.

Firm defends accounts claim. The Gazette and Herald picks up the story about Third Energy’s delay in filing its accounts. The company tells the paper its accounts were in the final stages of being finalised.

YP Letters: Stop making excuses for fracking campers’ poor behaviour. The Yorkshire Post carries a letter from shale gas supporter, Lorraine Allanson, says the protest camp at Kirby Misperton opposing Third Energy’s fracking plans offers “no feasible solutions, just excuses for poor and inconsiderate behaviour by a transient group who took a field without permission.”

Anger over fracking as meeting descends into chaos. The Derbyshire Times reports a parish council meeting descended into chaos tonight as councillors faced tough questioning about fracking in a village in north east Derbyshire. Dozens of residents attended an Eckington Parish Council meeting to voice their anger at the possibility of fracking taking place in Marsh Lane. At one point, it looked like the meeting would have to be abruptly ended as residents demanded answers from the parish council, and a representative from the firm behind the application, INEOS, was heckled. Video of part of the meeting

10 January 2017

Climate change becomes court battle ground over Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road fracking site in Lancashire. DrillOrDrop report on the legal arguments ahead.

Shale gas is an energy security issue – climate change minister tells MPs. DrillOrDrop report from today’s select committee hearing

February date for decision on IGas shale gas plans at Tinker Lane in Nottinghamshire. DrillOrDrop report

All you ever wanted to know about acidising. As North Lincolnshire Council prepares to vote on acidisation at the Wressle oil site, Kathryn McWhirter writes a guest post for DrillOrDrop on the use of acid in the onshore oil and gas industry

Keith Taylor accuses police of “authoritarian crack down” on protesters at Surrey drill site. DrillOrDrop’s Weekly Protest Update. BBC Surrey (12/1/2017)

Oil in retreat towards $55 as bullish bets stall. The FT reports oil prices slid towards $55 a barrel on Monday as fears mounted that funds betting on a price rally have started to pare back positions, with traders waiting for more evidence that Opec supply cuts will be substantial enough to balance the market.

Video: Anti-fracking protesters claim ‘thuggish’ guards almost pushed them into the road. The Lancashire Evening Post reports that anti-fracking protesters have claimed security guards at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Site have behaved in a “thuggish manner”. They said security guards almost pushed them into the A583 (on 9/1/2017) as they stood in front of security fencing at the site. Claire Stephenson, from the Preston New Road Action Group, said: “The violence protesters have been subjected to this morning has been taken seriously by the police. This thuggish behaviour is unacceptable and does not align with Cuadrilla’s so-called ‘community engagement’.” Pro-fracking support group Backing Fracking blamed the activists for the scuffle, the paper reports.

YP Letters: Pitch up at camp and thank anti-frackers. Writing to The Yorkshire Post, Anne Nightingale, of Helmsley, says she visited the Kirby Misperton protection camp. “I was overwhelmed by the warmth of their welcome, the offer to share their food, the orderliness and overall calmness of the camp. They are to be congratulated on their generosity and determination to come and support us in our fight against fracking.”

Argentina strikes $15bn a year shale investment deal. The FT reports that Argentine President Mauricio Macri is pushing to revamp flagging production in the country’s shale reserves, with companies agreeing on Tuesday to invest as much as $15bn a year in exchange for lower labour costs and extended state subsidies.

Fracking regulation is too strict to allow health risks. Ken Cronin, of UK Onshore Oil and Gas, the trade body, responds in the FT to Professor Watterson’s letter (see below). Mr Cronin says it quoted selectively from academic studies and gave a misleading impression.

9 January 2017

2016 onshore oil and gas drilling reaches record low for nearly 50 years. DrillOrDrop report

Five people arrested at Brockham oil site in Surrey and more protests outside Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site in Lancashire. Protest weekly update 7-13 January 2017. DrillOrDrop round-up

Brockham. Photo: Dan Ackroyd

Kirby Misperton protests and the fracking frontline. The Yorkshire Post reports from Kirby Misperton, where a pub has banned fracking as a conversation topic because of the arguments it causes between regulars. Villager Heidi Ridgewell tells the paper: “We are stuck completely in the middle. It feels like we are caught up in some kind of random Channel Four documentary.” The post also interviews people at the Protection Camp and the local police.

Lord Mayor of York takes supplies to Kirby Misperton anti-fracking camp. Darlington and Stockton Times reports that the Lord Mayor of York, Green Party councillor Dave Taylor, visited the anti-fracking camp at Kirby Misperton.

Fracking concerns must be listened to. Six academics write to The Guardian about reports on the health impacts of fracking. In the same paper, Austen Lynch, from Garstang in Lancashire, says people in the county, “through their democratically elected representatives in county hall, have made their feelings known loudly and clearly on more than one occasion, rejecting Cuadrilla’s application to continue fracking in Lancashire, only to have that legitimate decision summarily overturned by secretary of state Sajid Javid. It’s one thing having a right to make your feelings known, it’s another to have them fall on determinedly cloth ears.”

Fracking’s risks to health are well documented. Professor Andrew Watterson and five other academics also write to the FT about what they say are health risks from fracking.

Flamingo Land and others fined under Carbon Reduction Commitment energy efficiency scheme. The Environment Agency reports that Flamingo Land Resort, The Planning Inspectorate, University of Hull and Transport for London were among the companies or organisations which received penalties for failing to comply with the CRC energy efficiency scheme. The scheme is designed to cut carbon emissions and requires members to monitor their energy use, report their energy supplies and buy and surrender allowances for their emissions. Flamingo Land, near the Third Energy fracking site at Kirby Misperton, was fined £2,940 for failing to submit an annual report in time for 2013/2014.

UK Government criticised over oil and gas commitment. Energy Voice quotes criticism from Scottish MPs of the UIK Government’s commitment to oil and gas. The website said there were also fears that the industry was being downgraded as a priority by Theresa May’s administration. The government has not decided who will be responsible for oil and gas in the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, following the move of Baroness Neville-Rolfe to the Treasury last month. She was the 17^th energy minister in 19 years and had been in post only since July 2016.

YP Letters: Time now for direct action against fracking. Derek Chapman, writing to The Yorkshire Post welcomes the protection camp at Kirby Misperton. He says:

“unfortunately, the time has come for direct action or lorries will roll, fracking will commence and all will be lost. Nobody on site advocates criminality or is encouraging anti-social behaviour. Please, please, please bring your knowledge and gravitas to bear alongside others who gather from near and far at the camp.”

Jeremy Cresswell: A matter of reputation and disgust in Big Oil. Writing for Energy Voice, Jeremy Cresswell gives examples of how oil companies have damaged their own image: Cuadrilla’s costs awarded against Tina Rothery and the contempt of court case in Preston in 2016; INEOS proposals to carry out seismic testing near the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest; police and council labelling of anti-fracking campaigners as domestic extremists; the stand-off over the Dakota pipeline at Standing Rock.

Settle down and let the fracking begin. An unsigned letter to the Blackpool Gazette says:

“Risk and danger are all around us every day in every aspect of the lives of our families and ourselves, but we can mitigate against their effects by taking sensible precautions. All companies in this country need to take precautions to ensure the safety of their staff, customers, and users of their various products and I am confident that Cuadrilla, and the various regulators, will take steps to identify and mitigate potential risks. So let us now settle down and let Cuadrilla and the other fracking companies, overseen by the various regulators, start creating new jobs, and producing an indigenous supply of low cost energy”.

Another unsigned letter describes Friends of the Earth as “an ill-informed group of rapid protesters trying to bully people who have the temerity to think different to them”.

8 January 2017

What’s happening this week? DrillOrDrop’s event listing on fracking and onshore oil and gas.

Slapped down, but still Friends of the Earth mixes frack and fiction. Dominic Lawson, writing in The Times, comments on the informal resolution of the Friends of the Earth leaflet by the Advertising Standards Authority.

Geriactivists to fight fracking very, very slowly. The Times reports that elderly protesters are among people camping in a field in Yorkshire to try to block shale gas drillers.

UK Government told it ‘get its act together’ on carbon capture. Energy Voice reports comments by shadow energy minister, Alan Whitehead, that “The Conservatives have got to get their act together on CCS strategy as soon as possible.” He said the 11^th-hour decision to scrap the £1bn project to develop CCS had cost Britain its potential “global lead”.

Lancashire’s anti-fracking campaigners not giving up. 2BR reports that anti-fracking protesters are vowing to continue their fight against fracking as Cuadrilla starts work on the Preston New Road site. They are pledging to demonstrate at the site every week day between 9am and 3pm.

7 January 2017

Fracking watchdog checks are to slack says poisons expert. The National reports comments by Dr David Brown, described as one of America’s foremost toxicologists. He warns the paper that regulators are not doing enough to monitor the health and environmental effects of fracking. He said the Scottish government should maintain its moratorium on fracking at least until more is known about its potential dangers.

38 degrees Protect Sherwood Forest petition. 38 degrees says 33,930 people have signed a petition (at 16.30 on 7/1/2017) urging the Forestry Commission to not allow energy companies to explore for gas in Sherwood Forest.

Protesters gather at Major Oak over Sherwood Forest fracking survey plans. The Nottingham Post reports that about 300 people took part in a rally at the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest against plans by INEOS to explore for shale gas in the area. BBC News

Photo: Frack Free Nottinghamshire

Flamingo park tests its balance. The Times reports Flamingo Land, one of Yorkshire’s most beloved tourist attractions, has become embroiled in the county’s fracking debate. Protesters have established a camp on land belong to the theme park’s chief executive, Gordon Gibb. It was not gated and is next to the road along which Third Energy’s lorries will travel to the drill site, the paper says.

YP Letters: Fracking camp’s moral purpose. Christopher Pickles, writing in The Yorkshire Post, says “We as a country have obligations under the Climate Change Agreement. Global warming is impacting most heavily on the poor countries of the South. That is why we must keep fossil fuels in the ground and why we must not start up a new fossil fuel industry.” The paper also carries letters on the subject from Jon Mager and Anne Stewart

SAF tell INEOS Shale “We don’t want fracking here”. Sheffield Against Fracking reports it was joined today by former Green Party leader, Natalie Bennett, to post “hundreds” of cards to INEOS from the Jessica Ennis golden postbox at Barkers Pool in the city centre. The group said each card represented a person who had stopped at a SAF stall during the summer and made a comment that they did not want fracking in Sheffield, South Yorkshire or elsewhere in the UK. Video link and another here

Photo: Sheffield Against Fracking

6 January 2017

First INEOS shale gas exploration bid gets underway – the company says it’s not fracking. DrillOrDrop report, Derbyshire Times

Location of INEOS’s proposed shale gas well. Image: Google Maps

Protest weekly update: the first of a new regular DrillOrDrop report on protests about fracking and onshore oil and gas activity in the UK. ‘Slow walk’ protest at fracking site (Lancashire Evening Post 7/1/2017); Anti-frackers cry foul over Fylde drilling site (Blackpool Gazette 7/1/2017)

Sherwood Forest ‘should not be fracked’, says RSPB. BBC News reports comments by the RSPB, which said there should be no fracking in the 1,050 acre Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve. The charity, which takes over management of all the NNR in 2018, said it did not object to seismic surveying in principle but said it must be done in a way that does not disturb breeding birds.

20,000 vehicle movements per fracking test site in Lancashire. Frack Off reports on the number of waste tankers and heavy loads on local roads.

Public meeting over oil drilling plans. The Scunthorpe Telegraph reports that campaigners opposed to plans for drill for oil and gas at a site in North Lincolnshire have held a public meeting in Brigg.

Lobbying tsar investigates all-party parliamentary groups. The Guardian reports that Alison White, the registrar of consultant lobbyists, has begun an inquiry into APPGs following concerns that lobbyists are acting as secretaries to gain access to legislators, bypassing lobbying rules.

Bureau of Land Management Slammed for Downplaying Fracking’s Threats to California Public Lands — Again. DeSmog reports that an environmental impact statement released by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Thursday “ignores risks of hydraulic fracturing” according to the Centre for Biological Diversity that took the agency to court for similar omissions in 2013.

5 January 2017

Preston New Road, near Blackpool. Photo: Ami Roberts

Work begins at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road fracking site. DrillOrDrop report.  The Guardian, Energy Voice, BBC News, Frack Off, Reclaim the Power, MailOnline, Telegraph, Residents Action on Fylde Fracking, Energy Voice, Blackpool Gazette

Pressure mounts on Friends of the Earth anti-fracking campaign. DrillOrDrop report, Energy Voice (6/1/2017)

Anti-fracking campaigners urge Third Energy to publish accounts on time. DrillOrDrop report. Yorkshire Post

Friends of the Earth says fracking talks with INEOS a ‘huge waste of time’. Energy Voice reports comments by Richard Dixon, director of Friends of the Earth Scotland who said attempting to persuade INEOS to abandon fracking would be “as pointless as trying to convince Nigel Farage to change his mind about Brexit”. He was responding to Tom Pickering, operations director of INEOS Shale, who said the company had offered to meet FOE and FOE Scotland to have “a grown-up science based discussion”.

Fylde MP tops the fracking question list. The Blackpool Gazette picks up DrillOrDrop’s story from 30 December 2016.

Dozens set to protest Sherwood Forest fracking test plans. The Eastwood and Kimberley Advertiser reports on a rally on Saturday organised after it emerged that INEOS is to carry out seismic surveys in the area.

4 January 2017

Advertising watchdog warns Friends of the Earth over fracking claims. DrillOrDrop report on informal resolution of complaints against fundraising leaflet. FT, BBC, The Times, CarbonBrief, The Guardian, Blackpool Gazette

Anti-fracking protestors in Kirby Misperton make five-point pledge after residents raise safety concerns. The Gazette and Herald reports that residents at Kirby Misperton Protection Camp have made five pledges over peaceful protests, respect for neighbours, the objective of its protest, supporting local businesses and returning the site to its former condition.

3 January 2017

Lincolnshire planners recommend Egdon’s Wressle oil production plans, despite concerns about acidisation and proppant squeeze. DrillOrDrop report

Record number of oil and gas firms go bust as renewable energy revolution begins to bite. The Independent reports on a new study which highlights the need for the UK to prepare for a move to a low carbon economy. The study by accountancy firm Moore Stephens found 16 oil and gas companies went insolvent last year, compared to none at all in 2012. Jeremy Willmont, who carried out the research, said: “The collapse of the price of oil has stretched many UK independents to breaking point.

Horse Hill explorers step up momentum as confidence grows. Proactive Investors reports UK Oil & Gas has outlined plans that could turn the southern Home Counties into a new hotspot for hydrocarbons. The site reports that UKOG plans to drill the Broadford Bridge-1 well, 11 miles from Horse Hill.

Fracking camp ‘may hit tourist economy’. The Northern Echo reports Some residents of Pickering and Kirby Misperton, where Third Energy has been given permission to frack, said they feared an influx of activists from outside the area could affect the area’s key tourism industry. The paper says growing numbers of protesters are believed to be occupying a field near Kirby Misperton, where Yorkshire and the North-East’s most visited paid-for attraction Flamingo Land is sited.

2017 will be the year of shale gas. The Lancashire Evening Post reports early site clearing and preparation work at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road fracking site could start as early as this month.

Company denies fracking in short-term at Sherwood Forest with residents and campaigners concerned. Notts TV quotes Tom Pickering, of INEOS Shale, that seismic surveying does not include “fracking in any form” and is designed to build up knowledge of the licence area, which includes Sherwood Forest.

Response to concerns about fracking and Sherwood Forest. Nottinghamshire County Council issued a statement about media reports on fracking and Sherwood Forest. It said:

“The County Council has not received any planning applications for shale gas development which involve fracking, either at Sherwood Forest or anywhere else in the county.

“We have not received planning applications for any oil or gas extraction in or near Sherwood Forest Country Park.

“We want to reassure residents that any planning applications for shale gas development made in Nottinghamshire that are forthcoming in the future would be widely publicised and consulted on before decisions are made on their suitability.

“Our world-famous Sherwood Forest Country Park, which is also home to the Major Oak and many other ancient oaks, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation and is part of the Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve. Conservation of its ecology and natural habitats are paramount and the County Council will do everything in its power to ensure its heritage and conservation is protected now and for future generations.

“The planning process is part of a comprehensive regime of regulation involving a number of agencies.”

US fracking shown to benefit local households. The FT picks up on a study by University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute (See DrillOrDrop headline for December 22) which found increased oil and gas production in the US was worth a net $1,900 per year to households in areas where activity was highest. But it also concluded that some areas were made worse off by shale production and within an area some households lost while others gained. Gains included higher wages, royalty payments and house prices. The costs included higher crime, disruption from industrial operations and possible water and air pollution, the FT reports. Energy Voice (4/1/2017)

2 January 2017

What to watch in 2017? DrillOrDrop’s round-up of likely activity in fracking, shale, conventional oil and gas, planning applications and campaign activity.

Fracking industry set for blast-off as it seeks to prove doubters wrong. The Times reports on shale gas operations at Kirby Misperton in North Yorkshire, Preston New Road in Lancashire and Springs Road, Misson in Nottinghamshire.

1 January 2017

Sherwood Forest fracking plans revealed. DrillOrDrop report on Friends of the Earth Freedom of Information request which shows INEOS, through its land surveyors Fisher German, has been in correspondence with the Forestry Commission since August 2016. INEOS wants to carry out seismic surveys on public forestry sites as the first stage to prospecting for shale gas.  Sunday Telegraph,  The Guardian, Mirror, Business Desk, International Business Times, Business Green

Drilling Diary – January 2017. DrillOrDrop round-up of events in the next month and beyond.

December 2016 Drilling headlines. DrillOrDrop’s digest of news about fracking, onshore oil and gas and campaign activity.

Kirby Misperton Protection Camp becomes centre for national fracking protest. The Northern Echo reports on a protection camp at Kirby Misperton in North Yorkshire, where Third Energy has permission to frack its existing KM8 well.

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