Earthquake on 18 July 2018. Source: Dr Stephen Hicks
Mole Valley District Council has called for local oil and gas operations to stop if they are implicated in the recent cluster of earthquakes in Surrey.
Vivienne Michael
The area around Dorking served by the council has experienced 14 earthquakes since April 1 2018, after 50 years without any tremors.
Earlier this month a group of geologists called for a moratorium on oil and gas operations at nearby sites at Brockham and Horse Hill.
In a statement, Vivienne Michael, leader of Mole Valley District Council, said the authority shared residents’ concerns and said “a link cannot be completely ruled out”.
She said:
“We have therefore been in touch with Surrey County Council (SCC), which is the mineral planning authority in this case, to ensure that they are aware of the level of concern and to urge them to take the necessary and appropriate action.”
The earthquake issue was discussed on 8 August 2018 when county councillors approved a part-retrospective planning application by Angus Energy for a disputed oil well at Brockham.
Mrs Michael said:
“Under National Planning Practice Guidance, the mitigation of seismic risk is one of the hydrocarbon issues that mineral planning authorities can leave to other regulatory regimes and we understand that SCC has been liaising with the Environment Agency, British Geological Survey, Health and Safety Executive and the Oil and Gas Authority as the main regulatory bodies involved.”
The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) told DrillOrDrop it was “difficult to see how oil and gas activities in the area could be linked to these seismic events”.
Monitoring station installed in Surrey, 12 July 2018. Photo: Dr Stephen Hicks
Since the start of the earthquakes, the British Geological Survey (BGS) has installed five seismic monitoring stations in the area. But it is not yet able to say if there is a connection and there is also no timescale for its work.
Mrs Michael said:
“We are calling on the BGS and the OGA to clarify this and to take any further action necessary to ensure that, if drilling, re-injection and flow testing are implicated, these activities are curtailed or stopped completely and our residents’ concerns addressed.”
Reaction
The statement was welcomed by local people and residents’ groups.
Brockham resident, Ted Kral said:
“The ball is now most firmly in the Oil and Gas Authority’s court.
I cannot understand how this Authority, having granted a temporary nationwide moratorium in 2011, following a series of significantly smaller earthquakes associated with the Preese Hall fracking site in Lancashire, has not immediately put in place a similar moratorium on oil drilling, re-injection and flow testing until more is known on possible causal links between the hydrocarbon activities and the Surrey earthquakes. This is especially after four eminent academic geologists had called for such a moratorium.
“We very much appreciate the council getting involved and fully support their call for further investigation and clear timescales.
Ada Zaffina, of Brockham Oil Watch, said:
“MVDC’s position is representative of the concerns of the local people, and quite different from the approach taken by Surrey County Council’s planning authority during the recent meeting where permission was granted for controversial works at Brockham. SCC said that seismic risk was not a planning consideration and that it was outside of the jurisdiction of the local planning authority.
“We have now also asked for the available operational data for Brockham to be verified, and for detailed data held by the regulators and the operator to be released for independent analysis.”
James Knapp, of the Weald Action Group, said:
“The statement from MVDC reflects the concerns of many Surrey residents, and is very welcome. Local group A Voice For Leith Hill has seen unprecedented demand for its earthquake edition newsletter which went to a sixth reprint, showing how widespread public concern is.
“The call for a moratorium by four eminent hydrocarbon geologists and seismologists was based on the coincidence of timing, depth and location of the earthquakes with activities at Brockham and Horse Hill. This merits investigation, but the OGA is conflicted as it’s primary function is to promote the oil and gas industry.
“We are now at an an impasse. The BGS are doing their job, gathering and publishing data for others to analyse just as they did after the 2011 Preese Hall earthquakes, but no independent academic study can be made until Angus and UKOG release all borehole base pressure data and detailed logs of raw injection data including all depth, timing, quantity, pressure and fluid type.”
Categories: Regulation
DRILL OR DROP? 
Another not in my backyard.Waste of time councillor .Hope we are not paying her out of our council taxes Fake news Ruth .You are becoming a laughingstock with drill or drop .Time to go
More clutching at straws. SCC are already fully aware of concerns raised by panicking NIMBYs and advised that it is not SCC’s remit to make any decision regarding any potential link nor to prevent O&G companies from going about their legitimate business. I doubt that position has changed in the last 3 weeks. I’m also pretty sure SCC advised that this matter should be left to the appropriate professionals, who have not to date made any formal link. Indeed, they have actually said more to the contrary e.g. OGA stating they think it very unlikely there is a link,
I guess real news is a bit thin on the ground at the moment, hence the need to create a story out of nothing.
Looking at quakes over the last 50 days https://earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/recent_uk_events.html it appears that mother nature has been busy across the UK. Interestingly, the latest quake at Newdigate (18/08/18) appears to have had a magnitude of minus 0.1! Does that mean it was a non-quake? Much like this article is a non-story?
I know it is called Horse Hill but this one has been beaten to death. When does reporting news become trying to manufacture news?
Seems we quickly learn the methods of the US press.
Not complaining. In itself, quite a good signal-bit like that warning light that comes on when your car is running out of oil.
Ho ho.
So the OGA has said it is “difficult to see how oil and gas activities in the area could be linked to these seismic events”. Fair enough, but it doesn’t rule it out. And that is a worry.
Let the BGS complete their work, and let’s have Angus and UKOG release all ‘borehole base pressure data and detailed logs of raw injection data including all depth, timing, quantity, pressure and fluid type’.
And then we can come to proper, reasoned, scientific conclusion. Until then everyone is guessing.
David Burnley
I am not sure that obtaining the list of information noted above would enable whoever is investigating to come to a proper, reasoned, scientific conclusion. Unless the only remit for the investigation is to consider if the oil and gas industry were the cause. And even then I doubt that the list would lead to a definite conclusion.
An Independant investigation would seek to obtain all the relevant information, not just that related to O&G activities, plus some appreciation of any damage ( if any ) suffered so far.
In the meantime there is nothing stopping any investigation team coming up with a set of well data they consider likely to cause such an event. After all, it’s all small beer regarding reinjection and production in the weald, so injection quantities a la North Sea operations or Wytch Farm are not on the cards. Plus a list of whatever else they need.
By the by, has anyone ( Independant both of for and against ) asked Angus and UKOG for raw data?
Absolutely, David.
I am guessing however, that without any activity happening at HH during the start and then the majority of the cluster it would be difficult to expect science to overcome the common sense approach.
It doesn’t rule it in either. However, an Earth quake is the result of two rock faces which were under pressure slipping. Generally speaking, the longer that situation exists the higher the stress on the rocks. If an injection of water permitted them to slip prematurely, then it is possible that a major Earthquake was averted . So releasing pressure may be a good thing
So when did Surrey County Council start training their councillors in geology ? What indications does she have, seaweed wet, big toe ache irritated. Earth quakes of course are also earth tremors, but in practice people tend to separate the two. Earthquakes, causing structural damage, earth tremors, the cat jumped in the air
8/24/2018 –Large M7.1 Earthquake strikes South America — Deep EQ at 610km
A Planetary shift taking place?
The anthropogenic activities are being accelerated across the world at an unfortunate time, the effects of operations are quite simply unpredictable for these geological instability times.
The European wave is transferring across towards southern UK.and up to Greenland, we may see some quake effects where we have produced focus points by the drilling and reinjection activities which are known to produce tremors and quakes..
This “geogical instability” has been going on for just over 4.5 billion years. We are actually in a very quiet phase at present. Otherwise we would not be here.
Better not upset it then had we?
But in fact this present situation is not quiet is it? And these reports show just how unusual and intense this present activity is?
Or didn’t you ask dutchsinse or watch the presentations?
No?
Thought not. maybe do your own research in future?
This latest swarm is more powerful and is more spread out across the entire planet and is creating more and more focal points and transferring energy to the next in line than anything we have seen since modern records began.
There have been localised events in human history but not on such a world wide basis unless you go back into history of major disasters, but they had no seismic records did they?
But you can find the results in tectonic movement and pressure points and the so called ring of fire and the mid Atlantic expansion ridges, the San Andreas Fault and then perhaps most importantly the Yellowstone caldera?
Guess what we are doing there and in other fault areas?
Oh yes! Fracking and its associated redactions of the word? Now isn’t that a coincidence?
That is a bit unfortunate for our present massive increase in drilling operations and the results of creating these intensely grouped anthropogenic focus points in a very very short time in geological terms, particularly when we interpose into the erstwhile relatively stable fracture zones and the massive calderas such as Yellowstone and elsewhere.
Better hang on to your flat cat fat cat frack hats, its going to be a rrrrrooooouuuugh ride!
Yes, you can frack with gas too. Some say the recovery rate from the well is even higher if it is fracked with gas., especially if you use methane. Methane can be used over and over again, it brings no radioactive particles to the surface and it can even be sold afterwards !
2,000.000 wells have been fracked worldwide including a few in the United Kingdom/Yet frack free bleat endlessly on about the dangers to our very existence. Absolute piffle put about by the weak minded. 800,000 of the fracked wells have been fracked in North America and after some 15-20 years of fracking over there the population remains stubbornly healthy. The main dangers of fracking are people being run over by trucks carrying fracking equipment and industrial accidents. Health-wise the effects are statistically insignificant. The facts are really that shale gas is a fossil fuel and Greenpeace and FoE are against the exploitations fossil fuels. Of course the headquarters staff of these establishments still drive cars and use computers and wear clothes and use aircraft and cook and watch television. So it is a case of it is not good for you, but it is Ok for us ! (Even the anti frack protestors cook on camping gas and use their mobile phones. One might even be moved to look up the word hypocrites in their dictionary )
Ahh Paul, but there was no social media 4.5 billion years ago, and now we are in the New Age where every hiccup from the other side of the world can predict an avalanche in the Alps!
Or, it may just be that someone is sowing the seeds ahead of some fracking taking place in UK. Reminds me of when I used to leave a row of feed pellets to bring the sheep in to be dipped.
Well well, ladles and jellyspoons, that little earthquake swarm appears to have flutterd a little excitement and has attracted the usual crow or two through the inevitable obscuring veil of contributory fog?
A little fresh air from the south west will clear that.
Dear Dear
How sad
Never mind
Industry uses road transport. Parts for wind turbines use road transport. Every manufacturing facility uses transport . So why the pictures of tankers. Bringing oil and gas for Qatar burns some 300 tons (yes tons) of fuel a day to get it here. Much less invasive of the environment if we can pipe it from the well head straight into distribution systems
This fracking is older than I thought! That’s what Ursula was doing in 10,000BC.
And as for vaccination, heaven help those who have a jab near a tectonic plate in Mexico.
Seems N.Korean underground tests are off the hook.