The Secretary of State for business, energy and industrial strategy (beis) has given Cuadrilla final consent for hydraulic fracturing at Preston new road
All other relevant planning and permits required were already secured. The company is now in the process of preparing to apply for consent to carry out hydraulic fracturing operations for its second horizontal shale gas exploration well at the same site.
Francis Egan, CEO of Cuadrilla, said: “We are very pleased to be the first operator in the UK to have been awarded final consent to hydraulically fracture the UK’s first onshore horizontal shale exploration well. This is a testament to, and underpinned by, our strong track record of running a world-class shale gas exploration site at Preston New Road, in compliance with robust health, safety, environmental and planning regulations. It is also a win for Lancashire, which has already benefited directly from over £10m of investment as a result of our exploration works at Preston New Road to date. We now look forward to submitting a fracture consent application to BEIS for our second exploration well and moving on to fracture the shale rock and flow the natural gas which we believe will make a major contribution to reducing the UK’s gas imports and improving our environment and economy.”
Lee Petts, chairman at Lancashire For Shale, welcomed the news: “This is fabulous news for Lancashire, putting it squarely at the forefront of the UK’s nascent shale gas industry. The opportunity for local suppliers to gain a significant first-mover advantage cannot be overstated. Already, operations at Preston New Road have seen millions of pounds spent with Lancashire businesses, and the scope for that to grow in the future is astonishing – there really is nothing with quite the same potential to change the game for Lancashire’s economy.
“We are delighted that the Secretary of State has recognised this potential, and given Cuadrilla the final approval it needs to get on with demonstrating that Lancashire shale gas can be recovered in commercial quantities so that we can better assess the role it will one day play in meeting our energy needs as a nation.”
