Fracking Plans for Cuadrilla at Two Lancashire Sites

UK-based Cuadrilla Resources has not given up on quest to understand the full potential of Lancashire’s shale gas resources, announcing on Monday its proposal for two new exploration sites in the Fylde.

‘The company intends to apply for planning permission to drill, hydraulically fracture and test the flow of gas from up to four exploration wells on each of the sites, one at Roseacre Wood and the other at Preston New Road,’ reads a note released by the company. 

Learning from its recent problems with local population in its site in West Sussex, the company led by Francis Egan reaffirmed its intention to implement a public consultation program.

“We’re committed to being a good neighbour and to talking with the community at every stage of the process,” Cuadrilla’s CEO Egan commented in the note.

The company said it would file to Lancashire County Council the details of its approach to environmental assessments. 

At the same time, Cuadrilla dropped the option to carry out hydraulic fracturing at its Grange Hill site ‘at this time.’ 

The company is the only one to have been carried out hydraulic fracturing in the United Kingdom, but it registered a series of setbacks, after a tremor in Lancashire led to an 18-month moratorium. More recently, the company had to deal with protesters that halted the drilling of a conventional oil well in Balcombe. 

It recently revised its plans in Sussex, saying it would not carry out any hydraulic fracturing in the area, as the formation already contains natural fractures.