We have said many times that the work at Preston New Road induced micro seismicity. Any movement underground is called an earthquake but as the British Geological Survey (BGS) says itself, those events detected at Preston New Road were far below anything they would normally be able to detect. The EA assess the risk to the environment and will not issue permits if the level of risk is assessed as unacceptable. They also give members of the public the opportunity to raise any issues they think they should consider through an open consultation. Operators must meet all baseline monitoring requirements set out in planning permission and environmental permits before drilling can begin and must also notify the environmental regulator of their intention to drill. Safety and well design Once permissions have been obtained from the relevant regulators, all relevant consultees have been notified and permits are in pace, the OGA is responsible for issuing a consent to drill.

Once the gas is released in the tiny fractures, held open by the grains of sand, the gas travels up the well to surface. When the hydraulic fracturing is completed the flow rate of natural gas produced from each well is tested over period of approximately six months.

Egan welcomed the announcement this month that the moratorium would be lifted, but the company has not yet said whether it will unseal any wells. Before any oil or gas operation commences in England, operators must submit details of their plans to the Environment Agency (EA) for assessment of risks to the environment and the issuing of relevant permits. The EA’s responsibilities include:

For the regulation of flaring, see the Department for Energy and Climate Change’s Onshore oil and gas exploration in the UK: regulation and best practice which is available at here. Does Cuadrilla have an emergency plan? Flaring only takes place during the initial flow test stage. Cuadrilla uses an enclosed flare which conceals the flare flame. It is no secret that we asked the OGA to review the TLS in December 2018 following hydraulic fracturing operations and that remains a high priority for us and other UK shale operators. The upper operating limit, set at just 0.5 on the Richter scale, was purposefully positioned at an extremely conservative level, far below anything that can be felt at surface, much less cause any damage to people or property. The Government was very clear at the time about the intention to review this limit as operational experience and data became available. Didn’t you cause earthquakes when hydraulic fracturing at Preston New Road? Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences (PEDLs) are issued by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA). The licences give operators exclusive rights to explore for and extract oil and gas in a specific area but not the right to drill.

Engineered to Exhilarate

Seismicity is regulated at PNR by the Oil and Gas Authority using a ‘traffic light system’. You can read more about this here. The University of Liverpool released a report in 2018 to help put the low-level threshold of the Traffic Light System into context. The researchers indicated that vibrations experienced during everyday life are equivalent, or exceed, those that may occur from induced seismicity during hydraulic fracturing operations. You can view the paper here. Questions about PEDLS What is a PEDL?

The operator must notify the HSE of the well design and operation plans at least 21 days before drilling is due to start. Consent to drill Operations stop for a period of 18 hours if a tremor of local magnitude (ML) 0.5 or greater is detected. This level is well below what could potentially cause any damage at the surface and this pause allows any further seismicity to be limited. We are regulated by the Oil and Gas Authority, Environment Agency and Health and Safety Executive, with others such as the British Geological Survey monitoring us too.You may also find our ePortal of interest which details key data in relation to traffic movements. QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY What are the benefits of Shale Gas? ensuring appropriate treatment and management of any naturally occurring radioactive materials “NORM”);