Keep up with December’s 2021’s news with our digest of daily updated headlines about the business, regulation and campaigns around UK fracking, shale, and onshore oil and gas.

Click here for headlines from previous months. Please let us know if we’ve missed something important  contact@DrillOrDrop.com

Thursday 30 December 2021

DrillOrDrop’s checklist of what to watch for in 2022.

Rathlin posts notice of revised application for West Newton-A production. DrillOrDrop report

Time to resume fracking to advert energy crisis. Yorkshire Post letter by farmer Dick Lindley, of Normanton

Wednesday 29 December 2021

DrillOrDrop’s 2021 review of the year

Thursday 23 December 2021

Environment Agency minded to permit waste water reinjection at Brockham oil site in Surrey. DrillOrDrop

Angus Energy seeks consent to reconfigure Saltfleetby gas site. DrillOrDrop report

Wednesday 22 December 2021

Residents put toes on the line in fight against UKOG gas drilling plans near Surrey village of Dunsfold. DrillOrDrop report

Tuesday 21 December 2021

Campaigners from Plan B Earth and Global Majority are to appeal over failed legal challenge to UK climate policies. DrillOrDrop report, Guardian, Independent

“Significant environmental impact unlikely” from 25 years of hydrocarbon production at Rathlin Energy’s West Newton-A site, says East Yorkshire council. DrillOrDrop report

Monday 20 December 2021

No need for oil from Brockham wellsite, says campaign group. DrillOrDrop report

Government launches climate checklist for future oil and gas projects. DrillOrDrop report

Sunday 19 December 2021

Lincolnshire planners refuse well abandonment at IGas site over rig height breach. DrillOrDrop report

Friday 17 December 2021

UKOG chief executive commits to invest £12,000 in company over a year. DrillOrDrop report

Egdon Resources gives details of plans for Wressle oil site in 2022. DrillOrDrop report

Ineos allowed to build disputed gas cracker. World Today News reports Ineos has been granted an environmental permit to build an ethane cracker at the port of Antwerp in Belgium. Ineos said the cracker would have the lowest carbon footprint in Europe.

Thursday 16 December 2021

Fracking opposition more than double support – new government survey. DrillOrDrop report on new research for BEIS on public attitudes to energy

UKOG announces plan for geothermal energy hub at Horse Hill oil site in Surrey. DrillOrDrop report

Teenager campaigns against oil production in the Surrey greenbelt. DrillOrDrop report

Climate change imperils world’s oil and gas reserves: research. Reuters report on research by the UK-based consultancy, Verisk Maplecroft, which predicted that much of the world’s reserves of oil and gas is under threat from rising tides, storms, floods and extreme temperatures caused by climate change.

Wednesday 15 December 2021

Plans published for new well target and another year at North Kelsey exploration site. DrillOrDrop report on Egdon Resources planning application

Monday 13 December 2021

Government responds to fracking industry legal letter. DrillOrDrop report

Sunday 12 December 2021

Fracking companies threaten to sue the government over ban. The Telegraph reports that fracking companies are threatening to sue the government over its ban on the operation.

Saturday 11 December 2021

British universities slammed for taking £90m from oil companies in four years. Open Democracy reports campaigners have condemned what the call scandalous funding of universities, saying it is a “blemish on the reputations of the UK’s leading academic institutions”. Also reported in the Observer

Friday 10 December 2021

Cambo oil field plans paused. DrillOrDrop report

UKOG fails to win extra Turkish licences. DrillOrDrop report

Latest UK onshore oil production data: August 2021. DrillOrDrop report

Thursday 9 December 2021

IGas and Third Energy join project to store CO2 and hydrogen in old oil wells. DrillOrDrop report on the Net Zero Rise consortium

Wednesday 8 December 2021

Mozambique gas project could lift “millions out of poverty” – government lawyer. DrillOrDrop report on second day of legal challenge by Friends of the Earth

Campaigners take government to court over oil and gas subsidies. DrillOrDrop report, Energy Voice

Europa Oil & Gas reports 165 bopd from Wressle oil well in October. In a statement, Europa says oil from Wressle has pushed its production total to 240 bopd in October. This resulted in “meaningful revenues” for the company, it said.

uesday 7 December 2021

Government sued over $1.15bn funding for Mozambique gas scheme. DrillOrDrop report

Climate Change Committee to assess climate impact of new oil and gas fields in the North Sea. DrillOrDrop report

Rapid emissions reduction needed for Scotland to meet 2030 climate targets. Energy Voice reports on the CCC advice to the Scottish government.

Carbon capture in the UK: risk considerations. Energy Voice reports on how carbon is captured and considers the risks.

Cambo decision means Shell likely sees UKCS as a ‘difficult place to invest’. Energy Voice analysis of “a tough few months” for Shell

Monday 6 December 2021

Councillors set out official reasons for refusing Biscathorpe Oil Drill. The Lincolnite and Lincolnshire Live reports Councillors have officially confirmed their reasons for rejecting proposals to build a controversial oil drill in the Lincolnshire Wolds – but they have removed noise issues from their refusal.

Old UK oil wells could be turned into CO2 burial test sites. The Guardian reports on plans by a consortium of universities and energy companies to turn old oil and gas wells into the UK’s first deep test sites for burying carbon dioxide.

Friday 3 December 2021

More details revealed of Rathlin Energy’s scaled-back expansion plans at West Newton-A oil and gas site in East Yorkshire. DrillOrDrop report

New crimes added to Policing Bill as government targets enbvironmenal protest. DrillOrDrop report

Thursday 2 December 2021

No UK fossil fuel subsidies should be classed as “efficient” – Climate Change Committee review of COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact. DrillOrDrop report

Shell pulls out of Cambo oil field. Shell’s decision to withdraw its 30% stake in the oil field off Shetland is widely reported. The company said the economic case for investment was “not strong enough”. The majority investor, Siccar Point Energy, said it would continue talks with the UK government over the future of the field. Campaigners described Shells’ decision as a “deathblow” to Cambo. BBC News, The Independent, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Energy Voice

Wednesday 1 December 2021

Enforcement at Rathlin Energy oil site not “proportionate or sustainable” despite planning breach, says council. DrillOrDrop report

Sidetrack drilling delayed at Saltfleetby. DrillOrDrop report

Review of Lidsey oil field alters target location. DrillOrDrop report