Delay of filling in Lancashire fracking wells is kicking can down road and stressful for community

Anti-fracking campaigners in Lancashire have said moves to put off the capping of the two fracked wells at Preston New Road are delaying tactics which will cause more stress to neighbouring residents.
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The Oil and Gas Authority has said it would consider a request from gas exploration firm Cuadrilla to put off the filling in of the wells with concrete and restoration of the land, which it had ordered the firm to do earlier this year.

The change of heart comes after mounting pressure to reverse the fracking moratorium imposed in 2019 from some Conservative party members in the light of the fuel crisis and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia which supplies three per cent of the UK’s gas.

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Minister Greg Hands said earlier this week the OGA had approached Cuadrilla but had not yet had a request for an extension.

The fracking wells at Preston New Road have been ordered to be filled in, but now the Oil and Gas Authority is asking Cuadrilla if it wants a year's extensionThe fracking wells at Preston New Road have been ordered to be filled in, but now the Oil and Gas Authority is asking Cuadrilla if it wants a year's extension
The fracking wells at Preston New Road have been ordered to be filled in, but now the Oil and Gas Authority is asking Cuadrilla if it wants a year's extension

In a statement the OGA said: “The OGA has informed Cuadrilla that it would consider a request to extend the Plug and Abandon notice on the Preston New Road wells, and the parties are now considering the objectives of a one year extension and the arrangements for eventual abandonment.”

But the U-turn has upset residents living near to the Little Plumpton site and campaigners who say fracking causes pollution and goes against the UK’s efforts to cut greenhouse gases.

The Preston New Road Action Group said that the two wells were failures having caused a burst of earth tremors felt locally and Cuadrilla should restore the site by 2023 as it had previously been ordered to do as a delay would only “extend the stress of the local community”.

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John Hobson, a spokesperson for Frack Free Lancashire, said: "The government is clearly mindful of its legal obligations and exposure relating to licences paid for by Cuadrilla. They may see it as more prudent for them to kick this can further down the road than to risk litigation.

“The question arises as to what Cuadrilla intend to do with a site that they would have to maintain but not use, and how they would fund the costs without any income.

“It is imperative that they be asked to demonstrate that they would remain financially solvent to ensure that any future decommissioning costs are still met in full."

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