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Results of controversial 'fracking' for


shale gas in UK will be kept secret
• Drilling method criticised for contaminating water sources
• MPs hear US energy firm must only disclose details in 2015

Tim Webb
guar di an.c o.uk , Tuesday 1 Mar c h 201 1 20.47 GMT

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Gas dr i l l i ng near Cal gar y . The f i r st ex pl or ator y dr i l l i ng f or shal e gas i n the U K i s ab out to b egi n near
Bl ac k pool . Photogr aph: Todd Kor ol /Reuter s

The results of the first attem pt to extract shale gas in the UK using a
controv ersial technique known as hy draulic fracturing, or "fracking", will be
kept secret for four y ears, the Guardian has learned.

Cuadrilla Resources, a US priv ate equity backed firm , told MPs at the energy and
clim ate change com m ittee that it will begin this m onth to pum p 1 ,2 00 cubic
m etres of highly pressurised water m ixed with chem icals and sand near ly 3 ,000
m etres underground into an onshore shale gas reserv oir near Blackpool.

The process is known as "fracking" because it fr actures rock to release gas.


Industry estim ates reckon that m ore than a tenth of the country 's gas needs
could be produced in this way by 2 01 5. Howev er, critics such as the Green party

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say that it is env ironm entally unsafe because the chem icals could contam inate
aquifers used for drinking water and farm ing.

Cuadrilla is under intense public scrutiny as the UK's first prospectiv e shale gas
producer. But under the term s of its licence, awarded in 2 007 , it does not hav e
to declare how m uch gas it thinks it can pr oduce from the sites until 2 01 5. If the
firm was publicly quoted, stock m arket rules would require it to disclose the
inform ation to the m arket as it would be share price sensitiv e.

A gov ernm ent spokesm an confirm ed: "They get four y ears to look around – that
[four-y ear period] is protecting their com m ercial opportunity ." He added that it
was norm al practice for oil and gas exploration com panies to keep such
com m ercial inform ation confidential for a period.

But the delay giv es the com pany m ore tim e to study the geology along the
Lancashire coast and potentially bid for m ore licences in the area ahead of riv als.
The gov ernm ent is preparing to launch its 1 4 th onshore licensing round – the
first since 2 007 when Cuadrilla won its licence – in the next few weeks. There is
expected to be strong interest particularly from com panies looking to add new
acreage to produce unconv entional gas from shale or coal-bed m ethane.

Cuadrilla began exploratory drilling at the first of sev eral test w ells at Preese
Hall Farm , Weeton, just inland from Blackpool, in August. When the fracking
begins this m onth, 1 ,2 00 cubic m etres of w ater m ixed with chem icals –
equiv alent to about two and a half Oly m pic-sized swim m ing pools – will be
pum ped horizontally along the reserv oir to fracture open the rock.

Mark Miller, Cuadrilla chief executiv e, told MPs at the select com m ittee hearing
into shale gas that 9 9 .8% of this is pure water bought from local supplier United
Utilities. The rest is m ade up of two chem icals: a fluid to reduce friction inside
the pipe and an unspecified additiv e. Far gr eater quantities of water would be
needed if full-scale production began. According to the Ty ndall Centre, a clim ate
change research body , about 2 ,500-3 ,000 horizontal wells spread ov er som e
1 4 0-4 00 square kilom etres would need to be drilled using som e 2 7 to 1 1 3 m
tonnes of water in order to sustain production lev els equiv alent to 1 0% of UK gas
consum ption.

Fracking ty pically only lasts for 60 day s although the reserv oir produces for
y ears afterwards. Miller confirm ed that only about a third of the water m ix is
recov ered during the initial period, with at least half rem aining underground.
At the Preese Hall Far m site, an aquifer lies 2 00-4 00 m etres below the surface.
Miller said solid rock between it and where the fracking takes place would

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prev ent the water m ix contam inating the aquifer.

The collected water, rock chips and drilling m ud would need to be sent to landfill.
He said that based on geological seism ic surv ey s, the com pany could predict
what happens to the fractured gas and waste water m ix but adm itted: "You
nev er hav e control. Fractures will alway s go into the path of least resistance."

Cuadrilla is belatedly ram ping up its public relations efforts. At 5pm y esterday ,
the com pany had finally put its proper website liv e for the first tim e. The
holding page it replaced – which listed a com m unity helpline for worried locals –
did not appear in the first few pages of search results on Google.

The com pany has m ade its operations in the North Sea av ailable for v isits from
energy experts and politicians and done som e m edia interv iews. But the
chairm an of Blackpool Green party , Philip Mitchell, said the com pany had not
directly engaged with the local com m unity or held any public m eetings to
explain its activ ities. He also criticised the licensing and planning approv al
regulations, which predate the use of high-v olum e hy draulic fracturing and do
not place special requirem ents on unconv entional producers such as Cuadrilla.

• This article was am ended on 2 March 2 01 1

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2011

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