Cuadrilla is to plug and abandon two shale fuel wells in Lancashire following orders from the federal government’s trade regulator, it confirmed in an announcement.
Cuadrilla’s father or mother firm AJ Lucas stated the Oil and Fuel Authority (OGA) had ordered it to completely seal the 2 shale fuel wells drilled on the Preston New Highway (PNR) Lancashire shale exploration web site.
It would quickly begin plugging the wells with cement and eradicating pipework and valves from the positioning.
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Cuadrilla claims shale fuel from the North of England has the potential to fulfill the UK’s power wants and alleviate the price of dwelling disaster, in addition to create jobs and support levelling up.
Analysts and inexperienced campaigners say as a result of fuel is globally traded, which means it’s offered to the very best bidder, it’s unlikely to assist the UK.
Cuadrilla’s chief government officer, Francis Egan, stated he thought the choice had not “been correctly thought via”.
“Leaving our personal shale fuel within the floor will make lowering international emissions even more durable,” he stated. “Emissions from importing fuel are far greater than these from home-produced shale fuel.”
His feedback had been echoed by the Internet Zero Scrutiny group of roughly 20 Conservative MPs, who increase fears about local weather motion.
However Sam Corridor, director of the Conservative Surroundings Community group of 123 MPs, stated fracked fuel had “restricted potential to scale back power payments, due to our inhabitants density and pipelines to the European fuel market”
“The federal government expended important political capital and taxpayers’ cash attempting to kick-start fracking within the UK, however the trade could not win communities’ assist or frack with out inflicting tremors,” he stated.
He added the federal government was “proper to deal with increasing home clear power and lowering fuel demand because the route out of the present power invoice disaster”.
The OGA instructed Sky Information it doesn’t touch upon particular person instances, however stated it “expects licensees to handle their redundant nicely inventory responsibly, together with by the well timed plugging and abandonment of non-producing wells.”
Inexperienced teams warn the UK ought to keep away from “lock-in” to burning the climate-heating fossil gasoline and speed up the shift to home renewable power.
The wells have remained unused since 2019 when the federal government imposed a moratorium on fracking over considerations about tremors.
They took the choice “on the idea of the disturbance precipitated to residents dwelling close to Cuadrilla’s Preston New Highway web site in Lancashire”.
An OGA report had discovered that it was not at the moment attainable to precisely predict the likelihood or magnitude of earthquakes linked to fracking operations.
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