A controversial gas drilling operation that triggered earthquakes in Britain is set to be restarted, but with tighter controls on the process.The company involved has accepted stringent recommendations from Government-commissioned experts who say hydraulic fracturing - known as ‘fracking’ - should be allowed to continue at the Preese Hall well in Lancashire.
One of the provisos is that even a tremor too small to be noticed above ground should result in an immediate shutdown, with compulsory remedial action before a resumption of drilling.
The independent report also calls for careful monitoring of the site using arrays of seismic sensors, and steps to ensure excess pressure cannot build up beneath the ground.
Fracking involves injecting high pressure water, sand and chemicals into shale rock to release trapped gas and has made exploitation of previously uneconomical reserves feasible.
Well operator Cuadrilla Resources estimates that the Bowland Basin prospect site in Lancashire contains as much as 200trn cubic feet of gas. Read More
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