Blackpool Shale Gas drilling suspended after quake

Shale gas drilling is controversial

Shale gas test drilling in Lancashire has been suspended following an earthquake on the Fylde coast.

A spokeswoman for Cuadrilla, the company carrying out the tests, said drilling was suspended as a precaution after Friday’s 1.5 magnitude quake.

“No fracking will be resumed until the data has been interpreted by ourselves in consultations with the British Geological Survey (BGS),” she added.

On 1 April a 2.2 magnitude tremor also centred on Poulton-le-Fylde.

Shale gas drilling, known as “fracking”, involves shattering hard shale rocks underground to release gas using either hydraulic pressure or tiny explosions.

It has proved a controversial process in the US with environmentalists alleging that shale gas leaking into their drinking supply causes tap water to ignite.

But earlier this month the Commons energy select committee called on ministers to support the process in the UK arguing that environmental problems associated with it in the US could be overcome by tight regulation and good industry practice.

‘Quake risk’The BGS said it was also monitoring fracking as a precaution. There have been two small earthquakes in Lancashire since fracking began in the county in March.

In an analysis of the April quake published on its website the BGS said: “Any process that injects pressurised water into rocks at depth will cause the rock to fracture and possibly produce earthquakes.

“It is well known that injection of water or other fluids during the oil extraction and geothermal engineering, such as Shale gas, processes can result in earthquake activity.”

The BGS said the April tremor took place 1.2 miles (2km) away from the drilling site but said its monitoring instruments were 50 miles (80km) away.

“Instrumentation much closer to the site, as well as a detailed record of dates and times of injection are required to identify any relationship between the injection process and any seismic activity in future,” the BGS said.