Investigative journalist and environmental writer. Specialising in UK onshore oil and gas, fracking and the reaction to it.
15/10/13 Any decision about fracking in Northern Ireland should be a matter for the Executive as a whole, says the Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster. Her comments follows a debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly where the Minister of the Environment assured assembly members that in the absence of evidence […]
Update to Timeline – September 2013 30/9/13 Anti-fracking protestors begin to leave the camp outside Cuadrilla’s site at Balcombe. The Guardian reports that tents, banners and makeshift structures are being cleared from verges. Cuadrilla closed the exploratory well before its planning permission expired on Saturday September 28th. The […]
Update to Timeline – September 2013 27/9/13 Cuadrilla leaves Balcombe Cuadrilla’s exploratory drilling site at Balcombe is cleared and Sussex Police scales down its operation. Superintendent Lawrence Hobbs says a few officers will remain in the area, mostly to ensure road safety. He acknowledges the policing operation will affect […]
Update to Timeline – September 2013 26/9/13 Farewell to Cuadrilla Friends of the Earth Brighton announces a farewell gathering outside the Cuadrilla site at Balcombe at 11am on Saturday 28th September. The company has until Saturday, under the terms of its planning permission, to leave the site. 25/9/13 Rig […]
Update to Timeline – September 2013 25/9/2013 Green MP Caroline Lucas is charged following demonstrations against fracking at the Cuadrilla drilling site in Balcombe last month. A statement from the Crown Prosecution Service says Dr Lucas will face one charge under the Public Order Act 1986 and one charge of […]
Update to Timeline – September 2013 24/9/13 Police help Cuadrilla breach planning permission Sussex Police tells West Sussex County Council that lorries entering and leaving the Cuadrilla site at Balcombe this week will use different routes. This would be a breach of the company’s planning permission. In a […]
Update on Timeline – September 2013 19/9/2013 Anglers come out against fracking. The Angling Trust, which represents game, coarse and sea anglers in England says current environmental regulations aren’t good enough to deal with fracking. It urges the government not allow fracking unless sustainable supplies of water are […]
Government, operators and regulators must put across a clear message about fracking following the protest at Balcombe, the leading lobbyist for the energy supply industry said today (September 19th 2013). Michael Lunn, of the Environmental Industries Commission, said the government and the Environment Agency had “completely mismanaged” the […]
The Conservative MP who scrutinises energy policy told the shale gas industry it could face continuous opposition if it did not win public support for fracking. Tim Yeo, chair of the energy and climate change committee, said people had to be educated about the benefits of shale gas. […]
The fracking industry was warned today (September 19 2013) it could not afford a rogue operator or a single accident. The pro-fracking MP, Dan Byles, told the European Shale Gas and Oil Summit in London: “This is still a sensitive enough industry that an accident could shut everyone […]
DRILL OR DROP? 