Anti-fracking campaigners protest against Cuadrilla’s shale gas drilling

Anti-fracking campaigners staged a protest in the UK last week, successfully blockading a Cuadrilla Resources drill site near the village of Balcombe in Sussex.

The police said that 16 people were arrested on Friday and 12 were charged, including two teenage boys, in connection with the protests. Two further people were arrested by officers on Saturday morning.

Activists opposed to the use of chemicals in fracking described the police response as disproportionate.

According to The Guardian, locals and a group of environmentalists forced a lorry to turn away from the drilling site, which was carrying a generator necessary for Cuadrilla’s operations.

Anti-fracking activist Josie Wiltshire told the paper: "People see the fracking industry as a direct threat to their health and environment."

The Department for Energy has granted a drilling permit for the site, where Cuadrilla plans to use high-pressure hydraulic fracturing techniques to extract oil.

The company had planned to begin drilling 3,000ft into the rock on Monday.

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking involves a large amount of water being mixed with sand and chemicals which is injected at high pressure into thick shale rocks to open up tiny fissures that release bubbles of methane. These are trapped and collected at the surface through pipes.

UK Chancellor George Osborne earlier in the month announced an unprecedented tax break for the fracking industry in an effort to increase Britain’s energy security.

Britain holds vast deposits of shale gas, which is expected to be sufficient for 25 years’ supply, according to a report from the British Geological Survey.

Cuadrilla has also applied for planning consent to undertake hydraulic fracturing and testing of the shale at its Grange Hill exploration well in Lancashire.

The company also plans to apply for consent to drill, hydraulically fracture and test the gas flow at six exploration wells in the Fylde area in Lancashire.

Cuadrilla began fracking operations two years ago at sites in Lancashire, but stopped the activity due to two small earthquakes in the first wells.

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Image: Anti-fracking protestors have blockaded against shale gas operation near the village of Balcombe in Sussex. Photo: courtesy of Unai Fdz. de Betoño.