Cuadrilla produces first shale gas from Lancashire fracking site

UK-based oil and gas exploration firm Cuadrilla Resources has produced the first shale gas from its Preston New Road fracking site in Lancashire.

The development comes after the company started fracking operations at the shale gas exploration site in the first half of last month.

Cuadrilla had to suspend operations twice late last month after minor earth tremors were detected.

Under existing regulatory norms, operators in the UK need to halt fracking operations if an earthquake of magnitude 0.5 or above is detected.

Cuadrilla Resources CEO Francis Egan said: “The volumes of gas returning to the surface at this stage are small.

“However, considering that we are only at the very start of fracturing operations and, given operating constraints, have not yet been able to inject as much sand into the shale as we had planned, this is a good early indication of the gas potential that we have long talked about.”

Also known as fracking, hydraulic fracturing involves gas extraction using injections of water and chemicals under high pressure into a wellbore to create cracks in the deep-rock formations.

Egan added: “This initial gas flow is by no means the end of the story.  However, it provides early encouragement that the Bowland Shale can provide a significant source of natural gas to heat Lancashire and UK homes and offices and reduce our ever-growing reliance on expensive foreign imports.”

Once the fracking operations are completed, the company will fully test flow rates from the two exploration wells towards the end of 2018 and into the New Year.

The company’s attempts to undertake on-site fracking were repeatedly affected by protests from environmentalists who fear the technique could cause earthquakes and drinking water contamination.

Cuadrilla first produced shale gas from the site in 2011. However, the company had to suspend operations after a 2.3 magnitude earth tremor on the Fylde coast at the time.

A study revealed that the tremor was probably caused by shale gas test drilling, following which the government imposed a temporary nationwide ban on fracking.