The industry regulator gave Cuadrilla more time to plug and abandon its shale gas wells at Preston New Road in Lancashire, DrillOrDrop has discovered.

We reported in August 2023 that the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) set Cuadrilla a deadline of 30 December 2024 to decommission the wells.

The company failed to meet the deadline, as well as a similar planning time limit set by Lancashire County Council.

Decommissioning work finally got underway in late February 2025.

Now a response to our freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed that the NSTA extended its deadline by six months.

We made the FOI request after Cuadrilla said in recent financial reports that the company had been given more time for plugging and abandonment.

According to the FOI response, on 9 December 2024 the NSTA told Cuadrilla’s chief executive, Francis Egan:

“plugging and abandoning [of the Preston New Road wells] shall be completed by no later than 30 June 2025.”

The NSTA added:

“This Notice supersedes and replaces any and all previous plugging and abandonment notices issued by the NSTA in respect of the Relevant Licences.”

The correspondence showed the NSTA issued the replacement notice 22 days before the original deadline was due to expire.

It also showed that Cuadrilla asked for an extension on 29 October 2024, nine weeks before the original deadline.

Financial review

The FOI response indicated that NSTA did not review Cuadrilla’s financial forecasts when it granted the extension.

An email from the NSTA on 20 November 2024 said:

“as you are requesting an extension (albeit only for a short period of time) we would normally review a licensee’s financial forecasts.

“As it’s a short period, if you could confirm that there are no material changes to the cashflow forecasts that were provided to the NSTA previously then we can use those.”

Mr Egan replied the same day:

“I can confirm that there are no material changes to the cashflow forecasts previously supplied to the NSTA and that those can be used for the purposes of the short (6 month) extension that we are requesting to the deadline for P&A [plugging and abandonment] of the two wells at Preston New Road.”

Cuadrilla’s annual accounts, issued in January 2025, revealed a “material uncertainty” as to whether its parent company would provide the required financial support.

“Rig delay”

When we asked what was the justification for the extension, NSTA said:

“To allow time for the rig to move onto site and complete the work, following operational delays on a previous project.”

On 13 November 2024), Mr Egan told the NSTA:

“we have contracted a rig to complete the well P&A work but have been advised by the rig operator that the rig is still occupied in other onshore UK work and will not be available to mobilise to Preston New Road until January 2025 at the earliest.”

This explanation coincides with the one Cuadrilla gave to Lancashire County Council in December 2024.

But a rig supplier, PW Well Services told BBC News rigs were readily available in the UK to plug and abandon oil and gas wells.

• Follow our Clean-up countdown of the Preston New Road site. Under planning conditions, the site should be cleared by 8 June 2025, now 64 days away.

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