Cuadrilla Confirms Banks Shale Will Not Be Fracked

UK-based Cuadrilla said it would apply for an extension to the current planning permission for one well in Lancashire, in order to ‘allow time to carry out measurement of the pressure of the gas in the shale rock at its Becconsall well, near Banks.‘

The company stated that well would not be hydraulically fractured. According to the company, the measurement programme will then lead to the sealing of the well. The site is expected to return to its former condition in 2015.

“A week’s work at the site is required, during which a small rig will install pressure gauges and isolate a section of the well for measurement.  The rig will then be removed and the gauges will be left in place, recording pressure for approximately 12 months. We then plan to seal and return the site to its former condition,” Andrew Quarles, Cuadrilla’s Technical Director, said in a note published on its website on Tuesday. The communiqué was released on Friday.