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Cuadrilla admits drilling caused Blackpool earthquakes

Private company Cuadrilla Resources has admitted that its activities probably caused two “seismic events” that occured in Blackpool earlier this year.

By 12:36PM GMT 02 Nov 2011

In April, a tremor measuring 2.3 on the Richter scale was felt in the Lancashire seaside resort, followed by an event in May that measured 1.5 on the scale.

“It is highly probable that the hydraulic fracturing of Cuadrilla’s Preese Hall-1 well did trigger a number of minor seismic events,” Cuadrilla admitted. The report also said there was no threat to people and property in the local area caused by the drilling.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involved pumping a solution at high pressure through shale to crack the rock formation. This allows trapped gas to be released and collected.

The process is widespread in the US, but it has prompted concerns about the chemicals used in the process and the effect on the water table. However, “unconventional” gas has caused gas prices in the US to stay extremely low, even as the oil price soared.

“The seismic events were due to an unusual combination of geology at the well site coupled with the pressure exerted by water injection as part of operations,” Cuadrilla added, saying that this combination of geological factors was extremely rare and would be unlikely to occur together again at future well sites.

In response, the company will modify the amount of fluid it use and have installed a seismic early warning system.

The news came as protestors from anti-fracking group Frack Off stormed one of Cuadrilla’s rigs at a drilling site in Hesketh Bank, Lancashire this morning.

“The action is aimed at highlighting the hypocrisy behind the ‘Shale Gas Environmental Summit’ starting today in London: a conference sponsored by a host of companies involved in the oil and gas industry who are trying to spin the rapid expansion into the untapped fossil fuel as ‘green’,” the protest group said in a statement.

Mark Miller, chief executive of Cuadrilla, told The Daily Telegraph: “It’s a shame that this has got to the stage where people are putting themselves in danger.”

He said it would be better for people who object to tthe operation to sit down with the company experts and ask them their “toughest questions”

Mr Miller said that drilling would not restart until the regulators had examined their findings. This is expected to take “some time”. He said that “a lot of economic benefits would come from the find both locally and nationally, as Cuadrilla had shown there was “enormous amounts of gas in place”.

Martin Stewart-Smith a partner in international law firm Morgan Lewis’s Energy Transactions Practice said that although they are drilling deep wells the benefits in terms of energy security for the UK made the operation attractive.

“My personal view is that they should be permitted to proceed,” Mr Stewart-Smith said.

SOURCE ARTICLE

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