Cuadrilla Secures UK Well Frack Approval

UK upstream regulator Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) has agreed the hydraulic fracture plan for Cuadrilla's Preston New Road 2 well, it said August 5.

It said this was "part of the OGA’s approval of a well completion proposal for the PNR2 well, including hydraulic fracturing operations. The OGA has also approved a three-year extended well test which includes a one-year consent for the flaring of gas, as described in plans put forward by Cuadrilla."

As part of the OGA’s regulation of onshore hydraulic fracturing operations, there are strict controls in place to ensure that operators manage the risk of induced seismicity from such operations, the OGA added. .

Cuadrilla is to write to Lancashire County Council within the next month to seek a scoping opinion under Regulation 15 of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017. It said that by the end of November 2019, when its licence for PNR 1 expires, it was in fact likely to have spent no more than 21 months in total – out of the 30 granted by the licence – drilling or fracturing on site since the start of drilling Well PNR1.

This is because of the strict controls on seismicity. While these remain in place, further extensions may also be needed in order to allow enough actual work between the down-time.