Fracking equipment removed from Cuadrilla site after operations suspended: ‘Work at this site could soon be at an end’

Move could ‘mean the end of fracking in the UK’, say environmental campaigners

Monday 30 September 2019 16:50 BST

An aerial view of the Cuadrilla shale gas extraction site at Preston New Road (Getty)

Fracking company Cuadrilla has begun removing its equipment from its site at Preston New Road in Lancashire, after all drilling was suspended when the firm’s activities caused a 2.9-magnitude earthquake in August.

The licence to carry out hydraulic fracturing to extract shale gas expires on 30 November and Cuadrilla has said it will not seek a new licence.

The Oil and Gas Authority halted all operations indefinitely at the site after the 26 August quake, which was the largest caused by fracking in the UK and caused homes several miles away to shake.

The authority is currently carrying out a review of seismic activity which is yet to be published.

In a statement Cuadrilla said it was “demobilising hydraulic fracturing equipment”, at Preston New Road, but was still planning to begin flow testing its second horizontal shale gas well.

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Cuadrilla’s chief executive Francis Egan said the second well, which had been partially fracked in August could “further demonstrate the huge commercial opportunity here”.

The firm said it was continuing “to assist the Oil and Gas Authority on a series of technical studies arising out of a seismic event measuring 2.9 on the Richter scale, which occurred on August 26, 2019.”

The statement added: “A timeframe has not been agreed with the OGA for this work to be completed and further hydraulic fracturing will not take place at Preston New Road before current planning permission for fracturing expires at the end of November.”

Environmental campaigners have welcomed the news the company is taking its equipment away.

“We think this hopefully means the end of fracking in the UK,” said Friends of the Earth chief executive Craig Bennett in a short video statement from the Conservative Party conference.

He added: “If they want to frack again they’d have to reapply for planning permission, it’s unlikely they’d get it, and already we’re really seeing moves against fracking.

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Speaking about the Conservative Party – the only major party to back fracking in the UK, Mr Bennett said: “What’s astonishing here, over the last couple of days, is no-one’s talking about fracking. Remember when the Conservative Party thought it was the big solution to everything? No-one’s talking about it anymore.

“This is a dead industry and we can wave goodbye and good riddance.”

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