Fracking ‘likely cause’ of Lancs tremors, says report

A REPORT into unusual seismic activity close to a shale gas well in Lancashire has said that it is “highly probable” that Cuadrilla Resources’s activities triggered the series of tremors.

The report states that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) carried out by Cuadrilla at its Preese Hall-1 well near Poulton-le-Fylde was the likely cause, but argued that the combination of geological factors which led to the mini-quakes was “extremely rare and would be unlikely to occur together again at future well sites”.

It found that that none of the quakes, including one which measured 2.3 on the Richter scale in April – did any structural damage to properties above. In the “worst-case scenario”, a future tremor would only reach a magnitude of 3 on the Richter scale, it said.

Cuadrilla has just published the findings of the report, with chief executive Mark Miller stating that he was “pleased that the report concludes that there is no threat to people or property in the local area from our operations”.

“We are ready to put in place the early detection system that has been proposed in the report so that we can provide additional confidence and security to the local community.

“Cuadrilla is working with the relevant local and national authorities to implement the report’s recommendations so we may safely resume our operations.”

In September, Cuadrilla announced that it believed there was more than 200 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in its licence are in Lancashire, and said that up to 5,600 jobs could be created in its extraction. It also argues that shale gas extraction in the US has led to cheaper gas prices.

The process is a controversial one, however, with many environmental groups opposing its potential impact on the climate. Earlier this year, The Co-operative Group called for a moratorium on shale gas extraction, citing fears about greenhouse gas emission and potential groundwater contamination from chemicals dispersed during the fracking process.