Two plots of land, acquired by Star Energy companies for gas drilling near Chester, are being sold.

The company, known until recently as IGas, also appears to have given up a licence to explore for oil and gas in the area.

The hydrocarbon industry once thought the region could produce coal bed methane. But about 10 years ago it began looking at the potential for shale gas, involving fracking.

Land Registry documents seen by DrillOrDrop show the plots were bought by Star Energy subsidiaries from Grahams Estates Limited more than seven years ago.

One plot, on Warrington Road, Mickle Trafford, was bought by Dart Energy (West of England) Ltd in May 2016 for £255,000.

The other plot, at the junction of Ince Lane and Warrington Road in Bridge Trafford, was bought in May 2015 for £141,000.

Both are now being sold by Rostons estates agents as agricultural land at more than £10,000-£12,000 per acre. If both reach the maximum price, Star Energy Group would expect to receive about half a million pounds.

PEDL licence 190

Research by DrillOrDrop also reveals that the Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence (PEDL) 190, previously held by IGas, no longer exists.

This licence, which included the Bridge Trafford land, covered the area north of Chester and the eastern edge of Ellesmere Port. It also included the Ince Marshes, where IGas had plans to drill and frack for shale gas.

The industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), no longer lists PEDL190 in its official records.

There is no publicly-available relinquishment report for PEDL190. DrillOrDrop asked Star Energy to confirm whether it had relinquished or surrendered the licence but the company did not respond. We’ll update this article if the company does reply.

Star Energy’s most recent accounts, for 2022, released on 30 March 2023, included PEDL190 as an asset. The group was the licence operator and held a 50% interest, along with Ineos. More recent statements from the company have not referred to PEDL190.

At the time of writing, the land at Mickle Trafford is in PEDL189, east of Chester, remains on the NSTA official licence record.

Opponents of Star Energy’s oil and gas interests in Cheshire have welcomed the land sale.

Huw Rowlands, who farms nearby, said:

“Great news and a huge thank you to all who fought so hard to keep the frackers away.

“It’s good news for the environment, good news for the climate, and good news for local residents who have living in fear of fracking for the best part of a decade. IGas and Dart weren’t wanted, weren’t welcome and the vast majority will be heartily pleased to see the back of them.”

In 2016 a group of anti-fracking protesters established a camp near the Bridge Trafford land. In the same year,  a village poll in Mickle Trafford found that 81.70% thought fracking would not be a good thing. 11.80% said they didn’t know or had no opinion. The remaining 6.5% thought fracking would be a good thing.

DrillOrDrop reported earlier this year that IGas appeared to be turning away from shale gas.

The company said it would not take legal action against the government’s reinstatement of the moratorium against fracking in England. It also announced it had cut the value of its shale gas assets by £30m and would abandon its only shale gas site, at Springs Road, near Misson, in Nottinghamshire.

A trading update last week (9/8/23) suggested that Star Energy intended to move entirely into geothermal. Its chief executive, Chris Hopkinson, said:

“Whilst we are focused on delivering further value from our existing oil and gas assets, our desire over time is to transition out of our oil and gas business and fully into geothermal bringing with us all the complementary skill sets and experience of our workforce.

“Globally, the move to geothermal as a zero carbon source of energy continues to grow apace, and whilst we spearhead the industry in the UK, strategically we will also look more widely for geothermal opportunities to diversify our portfolio.”