After an 18-month hiatus, the Department of Energy and Climate Change has given the green light to resume shale gas exploratory ‘fracking’. Tim Probert explores the next steps towards the UK’s ambition to create a shale gas revolution. This article was first published in the February 2013 issue of Materials World. There has been no end … Continue reading
Mike Hill is an independent chartered engineer and director of Gemini Control & Automation based in Lytham St Annes, close to Cuadrilla Resources’ shale gas activities in West Lancashire. Having worked as an oil & gas engineer, Hill is concerned about potential environmental damage from ‘fracking’ and has spent much of his time and money … Continue reading
Shale gas firms could find the temptation to save millions by falsely under-reporting volumes of ’fracking’ flowback fluid too strong to resist without strong regulation, according to a Lancashire-based engineer familiar with the industry. To extract natural gas from shale rock a technique called hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is used. Millions of gallons of fluid comprising … Continue reading
Energy journalists were treated to not one but all three DECC (Commons) ministers – Secretary of State Ed Davey, Energy Minister John Hayes and Climate Change minister Greg Barker (plus two senior civil servants) at today’s Energy Bill press conference in the bowels of Whitehall Place. Here are the juicy bits. 1. On nuclear strike … Continue reading
Last week I attended SMi’s timely Shale Gas Environmental Summit in London. Timely because the UK government is now sending clear messages that there is too much hot air spouted about shale gas and believes it will not be a game-changer as in the United States. Here are my top ten ‘takeaways’ from the summit, … Continue reading
Water and energy have always had a close relationship, but shale gas and water are particularly intimate. Water is integral to shale gas drilling and there is a growing market, estimated to be worth up to $100 billion in the United States, for wastewater treatment. Tim Probert explores the opportunities and challenges in Europe. This … Continue reading
To some, shale gas is potentially the best thing energy development in Britain since North Sea oil. To others, shale gas is a potential environmental catastrophe. Will the growing environmental opposition to hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’, stop shale gas in Sussex in its tracks? Tim Probert digs deep. This article was first published in the … Continue reading
An independent report published today by the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) recommends shale gas hydraulic fracturing (fracking) should be immediately halted if seismic activity is recorded of a magnitude (M) of 0.5 or above, far below Cuadrilla Resources’ proposed level of 1.7M. Shale gas developer Cuadrilla Resources, which last September claimed … Continue reading
The British Geological Survey’s (BGS) study to establish levels of methane in groundwater in the UK will not include sites ‘fracked’ by Cuadrilla Resources in Lancashire. These sites operated by Cuadrilla, which last year claimed that a 500 square mile area around Blackpool, Preston and Southport contains enough methane to meet national gas demand for … Continue reading
Last night I enjoyed the spectacle of a shale gas public relations car crash in the charming West Sussex village of Balcombe. Last year shale oil and gas firm Cuadrilla Resources obtained a license to commence exploratory drilling at Lower Stumble, 1 mile south of the village. A hardcover surface has been prepared, and a … Continue reading
