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Full production unlikely at fracking protest site

Alex Delmar-Morgan
Tuesday 13 August 2013 23:38 BST
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Full production is "unlikely" to take place at Balcombe in West Sussex, the energy firm test drilling for oil there has said, according to the BBC.

Protesters have demonstrated at the site for over two weeks over fears the site could become a new location for the controversial method of extracting gas from the ground known as fracking.

The company told the BBC that Balcombe is well suited to exploration but that transport links remain an issue.

Protests delayed the start date of Cuadrilla's test drilling programme in Balcombe in the South Downs National Park by more than a week. The company finally started drilling on August 2.

The Prime Minister threw his weight behind fracking earlier in the week, urging the nation to get behind the controversial practice which he said would cut power bills and create jobs. The Government hopes that fracking will improve the UK's energy mix, making it less reliant on imports.

A six-day protest by a group named No Dash For Gas is planned at Balcombe starting on the weekend.

The group have a history of civil disobedience. In the autumn of 2012 they occupied an EDF Energy power facility in Nottinghamshire.

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