Cuadrilla Extends Development of Lancashire Site

UK shale gas pioneer Cuadrilla Resources says it is to install  monitoring equipment at its Anna’s Road site in Lancashire so it can undertake seismic and fracture monitoring in the area.

The company, which is exploring for natural gas in shale rock deep beneath the surface in Lancashire, completed the installation of the sensitive monitoring technology around its Banks site in West Lancashire last year, and has now confirmed that it will install the same systems at its Anna’s Road site in the Fylde.

The technology will enable Cuadrilla to adopt a number of early detection systems to prevent a level of seismic activity that could give cause for any public concern, it says.

In its announcement, the company says there will be "no surface impact" from the work.

Along with the green light for fracking and extraction of shale gas, announced by the British government late last year, was a declaration that any fracking must be carried out under strictly controlled conditions.

This followed the suspension of Cuadrilla's excavation, and any other fracking, after two small earthquakes occurred near their work site in 2011.

The company said the technology it has installed is the type recommended in an independent scientific report into the minor tremors. These recommendations were echoed by the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering in their report last year, and were adopted by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Davey, when he gave permission for hydraulic fracturing to resume.

Cuadrilla's exploration of the site near Blackpool has been controversial as there is a good deal of opposition to hydraulic fracturing in Britain, largely from groups with environmental concerns.