Recorded tremors at Preston New Road up to 16:24 on 4 November 2018. Data:BGS, Background photo: Google Earth; Graphic: DrillOrDrop
Conservative and Labour MPs in Lancashire have written to the business secretary, Greg Clark, demanding action following a series of tremors linked to Cuadrilla’s fracking operation near Blackpool.
Mark Menzies, the Conservative representing the area around the shale gas site, called for an independent assessment of the well. Gordon Marsden, the MP for the neighbouring constituency, was among six Lancashire Labour MPs who have called separately for a moratorium. The energy minister, Claire Perry, has also answered three parliamentary questions on the issue.
Well integrity concerns
Mark Menzies MP. Photo: Parliamentlive.tv
A spokesperson for Mr Menzies confirmed that the MP’s letter was expected to be sent today. It called for an independent investigation into well integrity at the site at Preston New Road.
The letter followed a meeting last week with local campaigners, Bob Dennett and Sue Marshall, at which they expressed concerns about the effect of a series of small earth tremors on the well
They told Mr Menzies that regulations were not meeting the gold standard that had been promised. They pointed to a report by the Royal Society in 2012 which recommended cement bond logs, as well as pressure tests, following seismic events:
“This advice is not being adhered to and they are currently relying on Cuadrilla simply pressure testing the well, so current practice is falling short of the Gold Standard regulations promised.”
They asked Mr Menzies to press for an urgent “comprehensive, transparent and independent well assessment”.
The most recent tremor near Preston New Road was recorded on 4 November 2018, with a local magnitude (ML) of 0.7. It was the closest so far to the well site and the largest since the 1.1ML event on 29 October 2018.
DrillOrDrop understands the 0.7ML event happened 48 hours after the most recent fracturing operation. It brings the total number of seismic events linked to the fracturing operation to 36. (Details on DrillorDrop Tremor tracker)
After the 1.1ML tremor, Cuadrilla said well integrity had been checked and verified.
A newsletter from regulators of the fracking site, issued this afternoon, said:
[The Health and Safety Executive] “receives regular reports from Cuadrilla on well pressure and a report detailing operations on the well each week, including integrity testing. HSE’s team of specialist well inspectors inspect these reports to ensure that they are in line with the notification supplied by Cuadrilla before hydraulic fracturing commenced.”
Regulators’ newsletter on assessing seismic activity – 6 November 2018
Regulators’ Preston New Road Community Update 3 – 6 November
Moratorium call
Labour MPs (left to right) Rosie Cooper, Julie Cooper, Sir Mark Hendrick, Kate Hollern, Gordon Marsden, Cat Smith and shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey
In a separate letter, six Labour MPs in Lancashire and the shadow business secretary, have called on Mr Clark to impose a moratorium on fracking.
Rosie Cooper, MP for West Lancashire, wrote:
“the current government must accept in light of recent seismic activity, that at the very least it would be just and right to halt fracking at this site and place a moratorium on fracking until such point as they can be not just reassured, but fully assured that there will be no more man-made earthquakes in England or Wales as a result of fracking.”
The letter was also signed by Julie Cooper (Burnley), Sir Mark Hendrick (Preston), Kate Hollern (Blackburn), Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South), Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood), and Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary and MP for Salford and Eccles.
“Complete experiment”
The campaign group, Frack Free Lancashire, supported the MPs’ call for a moratorium, saying local concerns about the tremors had been dismissed.
“Cuadrilla commissioned their own report in 2011 which stated: ‘Stronger events occur when some of the fluid penetrates into faults and in rare cases, events with magnitude up to 0.8 ML have been detected.’
“So there we have it: these events are considered ‘rare’, yet Cuadrilla have been recorded across national press, urging the government to change the seismic trigger regulations further. Cuadrilla have also previously stated: ‘Very little of the fracture fluid actually ever returns to the surface. So when we inject the water in there most of it does not come back’.
“It is clear that Preston New Road is a complete experiment, and one which we are having to live with the consequences – both known and unknown. There have been 36-and-counting seismic events. In only two weeks. The valid concerns regarding the effects of seismic activity (whether felt or not) upon the well integrity and underground infrastructure, are being blatantly dismissed. Who knows what is happening under our feet? From past experience, Cuadrilla certainly don’t.
“This is unacceptable and we have called on central government to implement an immediate fracking moratorium.”
Minister quizzed
The energy minister, Claire Perry, answered parliamentary questions yesterday on the earth tremors from three Labour MPs.
Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) asked about the implications of the seismic activity on government fracking policy (link to question).Ms Perry said the Oil & Gas Authority was “continually monitoring operations around the Preston New Road site to ensure they remain in line with Cuadrilla’s hydraulic fracture plan”. She said the traffic light system for monitoring seismic activity was working “in exactly the way that it was designed to”.
Roger Godsiff (Birmingham Hall Green) asked what assessment had been made of the detection of seismic activity caused by fracking in Lancashire (link to question). Ms Perry made a similar reply, adding that seismic events with a magnitude of 2.0 were usually not felt at the surface. A magnitude 0.5 event was “far below the ground motion caused by a passing vehicle”, she said.
Ms Perry’s reply was also similar to a question from the shadow policing minister, Louise Haigh (Sheffield Heeley), who asked what steps would the government be taking before fracking resumed. Link to question
- At the time of writing, more than 50,000 people have signed a 38 Degrees petition urging Mr Clark not to raise the threshold at which seismic activity would stop fracking.
Categories: Politics
DRILL OR DROP? 
I rather expect Mr Menzies mailbox is full of letters asking for him to intervene. This needs serious investigation especially as Cuadrilla are not really fracking in earnest yet.
According to the BGS, thousands of microseismic events occur each year all over the UK at 1Ml and lower. Are MPs going to call for action on these events, many of which are larger than those seen thus far at PNR? Why are politicians wasting their time with this nonsense? The US has experienced microseismicity around fracking for 60+ years without harm, so what basis do these politicians have for their statements? Should the PMs also call for action over construction of buildings, or the burying of power lines, or the passing of trucks on roads?
Perhaps Bob, you may want to look at the consistency of depth for the Blackpool ‘events’ as opposed to the ‘other’ not specified ‘how induced’ or ‘natural’ events…….
Sherwulfe, you misunderstand the point. I don’t doubt that the events around pnr are caused by fracking. They most definitively are. What I doubt is that they matter. They’ve been happening in the US for 60_+ years without negative consequence. Who cares if there are microseismic events? It’s a necessary part of fracking and it does zero damage to the wells.
I think Mr Menzies has had a very full mailbox and inbox for a long time now!
Sadly he doesn’t respond lately and prior to that he just quoted political and industry dogma!
Even worse he hasn’t showed up at the gates to Preston New Road to discuss and progress the genuine concerns of local and national environmental activists regarding police thuggery, water pollution, proximity of several local schools when toxic flaring commences and the absolute absence of a viable site specific emergency and evacuation plan which has been publicised and practiced !
He’s visible and audible in the local press when he chooses also down in London. Basically he’s a mouthpiece tof keep the gullible Fylde electorate quiet and peaceful.
Hear, hear. 👍 But it’s not too late for a change of heart from MM…
Same old nonsense.
Just a repeat of what has been attempted for many months. Perhaps these MPs should have a chat to the BGS if they wished to be informed?
Nah. No interest in being informed, just playing political games.
Cuadrilla should stick within their 0.5 threshold restrictions.
“A seismic activity limit of 0.5 magnitude ought not to be a show-stopper”
The EA’s Tony Grayling said a 0.5 limit was practicable. “The reason why the DECC report set the seismic limit at 0.5 magnitude far lower than the 1.7 is because there is a time delay between the fracking process and larger tremors. Unless you stop them at a lower level you risk a larger tremor later.”
https://millicentmedia.com/2012/05/29/top-ten-takeaways-from-uk-shale-gas-summit/
Any fule no that the seismic events haven’t been happening for many months Martyn. This is just more Collywibble on your part isn’t it?
Some commentary from the NY Department of Environmental Conservation on the subject of seismicity and well integrity, ““Wells are designed to withstand deformation from seismic activity. The steel casings used in modern wells are flexible and are designed to deform to prevent rupture. The casings can withstand distortions much larger than those caused by earthquakes, except for those very close to an earthquake epicenter. The magnitude 6.8 earthquake event in 1983 that occurred in Coalinga, California, damaged only 14 of the 1,725 nearby active oilfield wells, and the energy released by this event was thousands of times greater than the microseismic events resulting from hydraulic fracturing.” (Chapter 6, p. 6-212)
If this is what it’s like with one careful test frack, heaven help us when there are 6000 wells across the north fracking at full production – ie with much greater frequency, volumes of water, etc. (That’s the number of wells that would be needed to replace just half of our imported gas). Face it guys, it just ain’t gonna happen. Better to keep importing conventional gas to meet our needs from friendly nations such as Norway and Holland (who provide about 80% of our imported gas) and move swiftly to adding serious storage facilities for renewables – as has been done recently in South Africa and Australia), stop building new houses with gas already connected, and start insulating our homes properly.
Ellie, the Dutch gas fields are mainly blown down – so we do not import much from the Netherlands (that they produce). We export @ 12.5 GW of Natural Gas to the Netherlands & import about @20.8 GW – so net imports into the UK from the Netherlands are tiny at just over 8GW. See https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/736148/DUKES_2018.pdf Section 4.5 on page 109. Bye the way, the Groningen Field (a conventional gas field) has generated damaging earthquakes (unlike fracking in the UK), as they have not managed the blow down very well. But, I suppose you are happy to import gas from somewhere that has had damaging seismic activity – as it is not in our (your?) back yard?
So, let’s turn this on its head and ask ‘What would have been the difference if the people of Groninen had been aware/able to do something before/during/after the earthquakes?’ – Dr Nicky, if you want the people of PNR to lie down and accept their fate, then think again.
Cuadrilla licence suspended in Netherlands.
If deep fracking way below the Groningen is not a problem why stop it?
https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/02/dutch-minister-confirms-ban-on-drilling-shale-gas-not-an-option/
Am I surprised it’s Dennett and the Marshall’s behind this latest sterling work…quite simply no. These local people are and have always been the real opposition to Fracking in Lancashire. The difficulty has always been navigating the soft greens stranglehold on the campaign.
Well done to both of them for yet again showing they are the real people who represent Lancashire residents.
Deep hole being drilled into radioactive rocks under Cornwall. Indeed the heat is produced by the radioactive decay in the granite. They are pumping water down to bring heat to the surface!!!!! Just trying to show the double standards exhibited by the anti-frackers (some of whom might have granite worktops in their kitchens?) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-46100763.
Not double standards, Nick, just ignorance. I plead guilty. Give us scientific chapter and verse, please, and stop throwing out cheap and unmerited insults. If thermal energy is shown to be as foolhardy and as detrimental to the planet as the continued exploitation of fossil fuels, then i suspect most anti-frackers will be on your side in this respect. But we’re unlikely to leap over to your side in defending fracking.
iaith1720, I am giving you scientific chapter & verse about geothermal from granite – & I fully support extracting heat from granite. I think you are correct about ignorance (your words). That is the nub of the problem. These MPs & the fashion celebs etc are merely grandstanding .
“These MPs & the fashion celebs etc are merely grandstanding”
But Claire Perry knows what she is talking about
Ba ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
I can’t type another ha as my splitting sides need immediate attention and my tears of laughter have shorted out my keyboard.
Nick Riley is probably pointing out that the drilling of geothermal wells have many, if not most of the inadequacies sited by anti fracking fraternity. Drilling rigs, noise, light intrusion, presence and disposal of radioactive minerals, LSA buildup, injection into faults, a history of seismic events, activity of HGVs. etc. There are many things that a non hydrocarbon gothermal well has to its advantage and I am fully in favour of that well, but when we will we see any protectors outside the gates holding radioactive signs, warning of earthquakes or surfing on lorries?
Martin, thanks – you have amplified my point very well. Perhaps I am too subtle at making my point?
Or that you just work for Cuadrilla….
https://www.ecowatch.com/south-korea-earthquake-fracking-2563846110.html
For interest, regarding the depth of the Cornwall geothermal well; the deepest onshore UK borehole, so far, is Seal Sands (NE England) at 4.17km. Offshore UK, under the N. Sea, a few boreholes have surpassed 7km depth.
And while all this chat is going on more peaceful Environment Protectors have been arrested at PNR today!
Their crime?
Standing up for the Fylde against the toxic fracking industry!
Good for them, shame on the Establishment!
This will not end well for those that put themselves above the people they represent……