Cuadrilla Resources Holdings Ltd will plug and abandon two shale gas exploration wells in Lancashire but its parent company will retain all its licences in the UK.
MORATORIUM
Owners, Australian mining and infrastructure company AJ Lucas, said that the move was in compliance with Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) regulations.
The project has been subject to protests following reported earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – at the Preston New Road (PNR) site near the border with Blackpool.
Cuadrilla has conducted no operations since November 2019 when the Government introduced a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in England.
QUALITY
In a statement, AJ Lucas said that Cuadrilla would soon mobilise a rig to start plugging the wells and removing the associated surface pipework and valves from the site.
“The two wells are the only horizontal wells drilled and hydraulically fractured into UK shale rock.
“The wells were drilled into the Bowland Shale to vertical depths of approximately 2.25km and onwards horizontally for a further 0.75km each through the shale.
“Fracturing and flow testing of each well confirmed the presence of a very high-quality natural gas resource, which flowed to surface from the underlying shale.”
OPTIONS
AJ Lucas added that the underlying gas resource operated by Cuadrilla covering much of Lancashire remained intact.
“The PNR site itself, at just 0.01km2 in area, represents just a tiny fraction of the 100km2 exploration licence area and other potential sites can also be evaluated as and when the moratorium is lifted.
“AJ Lucas plans to retain its Lancashire and other UK shale exploration licences and will continue to engage with industry peers, the regulator, and the Government to find a way of ending the moratorium and safely exploring and, in time, producing UK shale gas.
“In parallel, AJ Lucas is exploring other possible options, including electricity storage by battery, for the potential re-use of the PNR site post the abandonment of the existing wells.”