SHALE GAS
Fracking resumes and stops again in UK / Minor tremors reappear / Cuadrilla will try again in Lancashire / New Trump era rules benefit US drillers
Just two weeks after shale gas exploration was resumed in the UK on 15 October 2018 following a seven-year hiatus, it was halted again in the same place, the Preston New Road site in Lancashire, for the same reason as in 2011 – earth tremors. Energy firm Cuadrilla (Preston / UK; www.cuadrillaresources.com) first stopped its drills a week after commencing activity, when a small tremor recorded by the British Geological Survey (BGS) as being of 0.4 magnitude rumbled through silently underneath. Another small earthquake measured by BGS at 0.8 stopped the drills again on 26 October 2018, followed by what British news reports said was a “seismic event” of 1.1 magnitude on 29 October.
The 2011 tremors – one of which registered a magnitude of 2.3 – were attributed to shale gas test drilling. Cuadrilla suggested at the time that the seismic activity may have been caused by the movement of frack fluid into and along a fault already under stress. The incident led in mid-2011 to a UK-wide moratorium on fracking, which was lifted at the end of 2012 – see Plasteurope.com of 18.12.2012. Scotland launched its own moratorium in 2015, followed by a public consultation in which an overwhelming majority supported a permanent ban. Olefins and polyolefins giant Ineos (Rolle / Switzerand; www.ineos.com) challenged the ban in court but lost the case – see Plasteurope.com of 22.06.2018.
British law requires that drilling be halted and tests conducted when a tremor measures 0.5 or more, but Cuadrilla said it planned to resume drilling 18 hours after the temporary shutdown on 29 October, as “well integrity has been checked and verified.” The company said the tremor would be classed as a “red” event as part of the traffic light system implemented by the UK Oil and Gas Authority in 2012, but repeated earlier remarks that the magnitude registered “is way below anything that can be felt at surface and a very long way from anything that would cause damage or harm.”
Preston New Road has been a focal point for UK anti-shale campaigners since October 2016, when the national government overturned a decision by Lancashire's county council to extract shale gas at the site. The activists argue that, alongside the risk of seismic activity, extraction of shale gas poses risks of water contamination and locks the UK in to a future of fossil fuel dependence at a time when green energy should be a priority.
In July 2018, the government gave the all-clear for Cuadrilla to resume exploration at the Lancashire site after fracking opponents lost a legal challenge to the Preston-based company’s plans. Also this past summer, campaigners delivered a petition with 300,000 signatures against the UK’s plans to fast-track shale gas activity. Protestors were on hand to meet the drills on 15 October, too, with campaign group Reclaim the Power successfully blocking the entrance to the site with a lorry for 12 hours.
If activity is successfully resumed, Cuadrilla plans to drill two horizontal exploration wells over three months, after which the flow rate of the gas will be tested. UK energy minister Claire Perry, who has criticised anti-shale protests, has hinted that rules designed to halt fracking operations if they trigger minor earthquakes could be relaxed as the shale industry expands.
The 2011 tremors – one of which registered a magnitude of 2.3 – were attributed to shale gas test drilling. Cuadrilla suggested at the time that the seismic activity may have been caused by the movement of frack fluid into and along a fault already under stress. The incident led in mid-2011 to a UK-wide moratorium on fracking, which was lifted at the end of 2012 – see Plasteurope.com of 18.12.2012. Scotland launched its own moratorium in 2015, followed by a public consultation in which an overwhelming majority supported a permanent ban. Olefins and polyolefins giant Ineos (Rolle / Switzerand; www.ineos.com) challenged the ban in court but lost the case – see Plasteurope.com of 22.06.2018.
British law requires that drilling be halted and tests conducted when a tremor measures 0.5 or more, but Cuadrilla said it planned to resume drilling 18 hours after the temporary shutdown on 29 October, as “well integrity has been checked and verified.” The company said the tremor would be classed as a “red” event as part of the traffic light system implemented by the UK Oil and Gas Authority in 2012, but repeated earlier remarks that the magnitude registered “is way below anything that can be felt at surface and a very long way from anything that would cause damage or harm.”
Preston New Road has been a focal point for UK anti-shale campaigners since October 2016, when the national government overturned a decision by Lancashire's county council to extract shale gas at the site. The activists argue that, alongside the risk of seismic activity, extraction of shale gas poses risks of water contamination and locks the UK in to a future of fossil fuel dependence at a time when green energy should be a priority.
In July 2018, the government gave the all-clear for Cuadrilla to resume exploration at the Lancashire site after fracking opponents lost a legal challenge to the Preston-based company’s plans. Also this past summer, campaigners delivered a petition with 300,000 signatures against the UK’s plans to fast-track shale gas activity. Protestors were on hand to meet the drills on 15 October, too, with campaign group Reclaim the Power successfully blocking the entrance to the site with a lorry for 12 hours.
If activity is successfully resumed, Cuadrilla plans to drill two horizontal exploration wells over three months, after which the flow rate of the gas will be tested. UK energy minister Claire Perry, who has criticised anti-shale protests, has hinted that rules designed to halt fracking operations if they trigger minor earthquakes could be relaxed as the shale industry expands.
US public land opened up to drilling
Meanwhile in the US, energy companies are said to be swarming out to take advantage of the Trump administration’s removal of an Obama-era ban on exploring for conventional and unconventional gas – and oil – on publicly owned land. According to a report by the New York Times, would-be drillers are collectively buying up tens of thousands of acres of new leases and have already applied for permits.
Industry is also dictating the drilling rules, the newspaper suggests, among other things changing government policy on how frequently new federal leases are offered, how quickly permits are approved and how much the companies pay in royalties. The administration has also reduced the time the public has to challenge federal land sales and defanged an Obama-era rule intended to curb flaring or venting of methane. Trump has also binned rules that govern methane releases and a requirement that oil and gas companies disclose fracking chemicals they use on federal land.
Industry is also dictating the drilling rules, the newspaper suggests, among other things changing government policy on how frequently new federal leases are offered, how quickly permits are approved and how much the companies pay in royalties. The administration has also reduced the time the public has to challenge federal land sales and defanged an Obama-era rule intended to curb flaring or venting of methane. Trump has also binned rules that govern methane releases and a requirement that oil and gas companies disclose fracking chemicals they use on federal land.
31.10.2018 Plasteurope.com [240993-0]
Published on 31.10.2018