Cuadrilla granted hydraulic fracturing consent for second horizontal shale gas well

Francis Egan, CEO of Cuadrilla, said:

“We are delighted to receive this consent. We are currently completing works on site in readiness to start hydraulically fracturing both wells in the next few weeks. The UK’s need for a new and reliable source of natural gas, the cleanest fossil fuel, is underlined by a new report¹ suggesting the UK is going to have to rely on more coal to generate electricity. That would be a massive backwards step in reducing carbon emissions, as would continuing to import gas over long distances by pipe and ship. We are very proud to be the first operator in the UK to make significant headway in shale gas exploration.”

The first horizontal shale well was completed by Cuadrilla in April 2018 through the Lower Bowland shale rock at approximately 2300 m below surface and extends laterally for some 800 m. The second horizontal shale gas well was completed in July 2018 and was drilled through the Upper Bowland shale at an approximate depth of 2100 m below the surface, extending laterally for some 750 m through the shale. These are the first two horizontal shale exploration wells to be drilled onshore in the UK. Following hydraulic fracturing of these first two horizontal wells Cuadrilla will run an initial flow test of the gas produced from both wells for approximately six months.

¹ https://www.drax.com/press_release/drax-power-ceo-andy-koss-comments-electric-insightsreport-coal-comeback-pushes-uks-carbon-emissions/

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/20092018/cuadrilla-granted-hydraulic-fracturing-consent-for-second-horizontal-shale-gas-well/