The fracking firm, Cuadrilla Resources Limited, has received a cash sum of £12.5m after resolving a commercial dispute.

The company’s Australian parent, A J Lucas, announced yesterday that the dispute related to “certain UK shale gas exploration licences”.

Lucas said the dispute concerned a carry agreement, where an investor may acquire an interest in a drilling project and agree to pay the cost of future work.

The announcement to the Australian stock exchange did not identify the other party in the dispute.

Lucas added:

“Cuadrilla accepts that the carry agreement has been terminated and is of no further effect.

“Prior to entry into the settlement, the Company [Cuadrilla] had not accounted for receipt of any amounts under the carry agreement.”

We asked Cuadrilla and A J Lucas about the carry agreement and the other party or parties in the dispute. We will update this article with any response from the companies.

The carry agreement was not mentioned in Cuadrilla’s annual reports.

The most recent accounts (for the year ending 30 June 2024) revealed a “material uncertainty” over the finances of the Cuadrilla group. All the companies depended on Lucas and seven had no sustainable income stream.

Partnerships

Cuadrilla has a partnership agreement at the Preston New Road fracking site in Lancashire with Spirit Energy, a subsidiary of Centrica plc.

At the time of writing, data from the industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, shows Spirit Energy has a 25% stake in PEDL165, the licence which includes the Preston New Road site.

Earlier this year, Cuadrilla plugged and abandoned the site’s two shale gas wells.

In February 2022, Cuadrilla said in a press release that Spirit Energy would “provide funding towards the cost of this work”.

We asked Spirit Energy whether it had paid this contribution and whether it was a party in the dispute.

The company declined to comment.

Cuadrilla also has an agreement with Egdon Resources in licences identified as shale gas targets in North and East Yorkshire.

We asked Egdon Resources whether it was involved in the settlement. A spokesperson said:

“Egdon has no dispute with Cuadrilla on any joint licences”.

• Cuadrilla is seeking a two-year planning extension to restore Preston New Road to farmland.