Fracking equipment installed at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site near Blackpool, 7 August 2019. Photo: Ros Wills
Cuadrilla confirmed this morning it has resumed hydraulic fracturing at its Preston New Road shale gas site near Blackpool.
The company appears to have been scooped to the news by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). It posted an online press statement at 10.47am. This restated the government’s position on shale gas exploration “as Cuadrilla resumed hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations at its site in Preston New Road, Lancashire”.
Cuadrilla informed members of the Preston New Road community liaison group at 11.27am and published a press release at 11.42am. At the time of writing, DrillOrDrop understands that people living near the site had not been informed.
Cuadrilla’s press release said the company would fracture up to 45 stages of the second horizontal well at the site, known as PNR2.
The work was due to be completed by the end of November 2019, Cuadrilla said. Fracking would be followed by flow testing the well. Results were expected early in 2020, the company added.
Fracking the first horizontal well at Preston New Road, known as PNR1z, induced more than 50 small earth tremors, two of which were felt locally. DrillOrDrop tremor tracker
The company previously said the traffic light system, which regulates seismicity induced by fracking, would make UK shale gas commercially unviable. Cuadrilla said it stopped fracking prematurely four times on PNR1z because seismicity exceeded the threshold under the regulations of 0.5ML or above.
Today’s statement confirmed that fracking PNR2 would operate under the traffic light system.
Laura Hughes, Projects and Operations Director at Cuadrilla, said:
“We have unique experience and expertise of hydraulic fracturing in the UK from operations on our first well at Preston New Road.
“Whilst there may well be low levels of induced seismicity, local people should be reassured that any resulting ground motion will be far below anything that could cause harm or damage and, indeed, is likely to be much less than caused daily by other industries such as quarrying or construction or even heavy goods vehicles travelling on our roads.”
“Concerns ignored”
A spokesperson from Preston New Road Action Group said:
“Today is a worrying day for people living close to the PNR site. It seems as though all our concerns are being ignored as this industry is allowed to progress.
“We now wait for the earth tremors to start up again and wonder what damage they will be causing underground as well as at the surface. We fail to understand the need for damaging fossil fuel when we are fighting a climate change emergency”.
“Guinea pigs in dangerous experiment”
A spokesperson for Frack Free Lancashire said:
“Once again, the community is subjected to being guinea pigs for a dangerous fracking experiment. The last round of fracking resulted in 57 earthquakes and a variety of regulation breaches, with an unresolved well failure.
“With yesterday’s report that fracking has caused global methane levels to rise, impacting on public health, we urge the government to abandon this dangerous technology and focus on clean energy sources to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.
“Fracking is a bridge to climate breakdown: it has no place in a sustainable society.”
“Climate-wrecking fracking”
Jamie Peters, campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:
“Kick-starting an entire new fossil fuel industry when the impacts of climate breakdown are already ruining lives, including right here in the UK, doesn’t line up with the government’s claims to be a climate leader.
“Companies like Cuadrilla are turning a blind eye to the climate crisis and have been lobbying for earthquake safety limits to be relaxed. This is only after they’ve realised that fracking can’t be done without potentially dangerous effects underground.
“Fracking just isn’t part of the future if we are serious about avoiding climate breakdown. Instead of backing climate-wrecking fracking the government should ban it and support renewable energy and green jobs instead.”
“Most monitored oil and gas site in the world”
Ms Hughes, for Cuadrilla, added
“As we have often said Preston New Road is one of the most monitored oil and gas sites anywhere in the world. We have proven it is a well-run, entirely safe and environmentally responsible operation. We also know there is a reservoir of recoverable high quality natural gas beneath our feet that the UK needs if we are to reach Net Zero by 2050.
“The UK onshore shale exploration industry as a whole remains excited about the prospect of the Bowland Shale formation – estimated by the British Geologic Survey to contain some 1,300 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.”
- The BEIS statement repeated the government’s support for shale gas as a way of reducing imports, creating jobs and supporting the transition to net zero emissions. It said the UK had “world-leading regulations” that would make shale gas exploration safe and environmentally-responsible. It also referred to a scientific assessment of recent industry data. We understand this is the assessment announced in February and not a review of the traffic light system.
Categories: Industry
DRILL OR DROP? 
Fxxkixx bxxxaxxs!
That comment relates to the industry, it’s government controlled gold standard monitors, it’s site side enforcers and its propaganda machine!
Not forgetting of course the landowner and his short sighted greed!
Keep your eyes on th earthquake reports online!
“We also know there is a reservoir of recoverable high quality natural gas beneath our feet”
Who knew!
I thought what distinguished “unconventional” shale gas was that it is trapped in low permeability rock which requires fracking and not a reservoir that can be tapped.
Great news – better to get our natural gas from UK sources than through the Straits of Hormuz AND lower carbon footprint.
Basically the more we increase the proportion of wind and solar power in the energy stack (which is brilliant of course) the more we need a reliable back-up. Natural gas is, at the moment, the best answer to the low wind on a freezing February night scenario. Otherwise it’s nuclear (as in France) or coal (as in Germany).
Better to insulate the UK housing and commercial building stock, better to build zero or low carbon houses, better to switch to solar, heat pumps, offshore and ONSHORE wind and battery storage etc, better to reduce our need for plastic to save lives and use of gas.
By the way, in Germany 24 coal plants are planned to be closed by 2022. Us of coal is declining whilst renewable energy increases year on year.
Very well said David Burley but I would also add that European gas transported by pipeline (where the U.K. imports most of its gas from) has lower emissions than U.K. shale gas. The industry and supporters fail to mention that. Far better to keep importing from our Norwegian friends with lower emissions and keep reducing our gas consumption if we want to comply with carbon reduction legislation and agreements.
“European gas transported by pipeline (where the U.K. imports most of its gas from) has lower emissions than U.K. shale gas.” As there isn’t any UK shale gas yet I’m not sure how you have reached this conclusion.
The oil and gas authority are currently undertaking a scientific assessment of recent industry data which they will consider once test fracking the residents of the Fylde Sacrifice Zone, aka Guinea Pigs, has been completed!
Under the eagle eyes of the appointed Gold Standard Monitors whose primary concern is people’s safety and environmental purity!
Really? If that were true there would be no fracking on the Fylde or anywhere!
Let’s get sharing, that’s what we are fracking here for. Then these eco parasite’s can move on to there next campaign.
pete: it will never stop, if its not fracking, then it would be an incinerator plant, or campaigning against a nuclear power plant! Too many people frustratedly bored in their retired years, and fancying kicking off!
Truth is they don’t know why they are kicking off, its all very selfish! There are stunting our economy, progression and the employment of our engineers of the future in this industry! Or maybe they believe in Corbyns money tree, i don’t!
This Conservative Government is ‘stunting our economy, progression and the employment of our engineers of the future in this industry!’
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/12/onshore-wind-farms-in-uk-could-cut-50-a-year-off-energy-bills
John Powney
I think that the report referred to on the link says that the £50 a year could come off our energy bills by 2030.
Plus Glennmont Partners ( mentioned in your link ) are keen to invest in activities which are
‘Long term, low risk with predictable returns’
Or, they prefer gov subsidised projects with juicy tariffs, no risk to their annual pay and bonuses, and no risk to the offshore investors, who are naturally keen to invest. But not keen to invest without a subsidy it seems. Hence the lobbying.
https://www.glennmont.com/about-us/investment-philosophy/
Meanwhile offshore wind prices continue to drop.
https://www.energyvoice.com/otherenergy/191544/offshore-wind-could-be-cheaper-than-onshore-by-2030/
Meanwhile offshore wind carries on offering well paid jobs for many who have moved over from offshore oil and gas.
https://offshorewindcareers.co.uk/
The BEIS Statement is discredited out of date fracking propaganda!
They are obviously Climate Emergency Deniers like Trump, desperate to keep the fossil fuel extraction industry afloat whatever the harm to the Environment and Human Health.
Never fear though the earthquakes will close the industry down again shortly!
Sadly next door to where we live but there you go! Watch Menzies run away when they approach Lytham St Annes!
Peter K
Re Trump. He managed to be voted in as president of the United States, so it may be more a reflection of the feeling of that nation than just the chap.
His predecessor was not a climate change denier, but fracking expended exponentially on his watch.
The coal industry over there thought he was ‘desperate’ to close it down. They now feel ( based on the work by Howarth et al ) that Obama was sold a pup.
I am sure that the US coal industry would be more than happy if the US shale gas industry was banned. Trebles all round. More coal and some clean burn coal fired power stations fitted with CCS would be their dream.
American politics are, as here, interesting to follow.
First fracking induced earthquake/tremor from today’s restarted fracking at PNR, centered on Preston New Road by Penny Farm this time.
Hope their precious horses are okay, they certainly don’t care about us Humans!
Fracking again 10an this morning.
No induced quakes reportsd yet on BGS site, not been updated since 9am though!
Government now opening door to increased TLS limits would you believe! Tories need removing ASAP!
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Again and again we see the US ponzi scheme unfolding. Take note Boris.
Frackers’ persistent inability to produce robust cash flows should be a grave concern to investors
https://www.sightline.org/2019/08/19/us-fracking-sector-disappoints-investors-yet-again/
john: are you an investor NO, they why your concern?. You’d better to invest in gayzer frackmans magician show. At least you’d get a laugh!
“Exxon hunts buyers as it plans to quit North Sea.
The company is stepping up onshore production in USA, particularly in the Permian Basin, the world’s most promising shale oil and gasfield, where it operates more drilling rigs than any other producer. This year, Chevron and Conoco Philips sold most of their North Sea operations”.
Exxon, valued at close to $300 BILLION.
Goodness, John knows something these “tiddlers” do not! Except, the Exxon share price rose on the news, so perhaps not.