Page 9 - Euroil Week 39 2019

EurOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES EurOil
Cuadrilla packs up fracking equipment after tremors
UK
Cuadrilla’s owners are reportedly mulling a sale.
UK shale explorer Cuadrilla Resources has announced it will begin demobilising hydraulic fracturing equipment in northern England, after having to halt use of the unconventional tech- nique in response to a series of tremors.
The company was forced to suspend fractur- ing stimulation in August after a series of seismic events was recorded. The final tremor measured 2.9 MT on the Richter scale, well surpassing the 0.5 MT limit set by UK regulators.
Cuadrilla said on September 30 it was con- tinuing to assist the industry regulator Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) on a series of technical studies relating to the quake. But a timeframe has not been agreed with the OGA on when this work will be concluded. Further fracturing will not take place at the site until current planning per- mission for the technique expires at the end of November.
The company said it would nevertheless move ahead in the next few weeks with conventional testing of its second horizontal shale gas well at the Preston New Road site. CEO Francis Egan also reiterated the case for shale gas development in the UK.
“We believe that this will further demonstrate the huge commercial opportunity here,” he said
in a statement. “Given the low-carbon footprint of UK shale gas compared to that of gas imported by ship from overseas, it clearly makes sense to look at this local resource rather than increasing reliance on imports.”
In February, Cuadrilla reported flow-testing the UK’s first-ever horizontal shale gas explora- tion well, which confirmed a high-quality nat- ural gas resource in the Lower Bowland shale that was capable of flowing to the surface. The Bowland shale is estimated by the British Geo- logical Survey (BGS) to contain 1,300tn cubic feet (36.8tn cubic metres) of gas.
Cuadrilla may be hoping that the govern- ing pro-shale Conservative leadership will ease restrictions on shale exploration. But with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his cabinet currently focused on delivering Brexit and pre- paring for a potential general election, a change in the rules is unlikely in the near future. Mean- while, Cuadrilla’s shareholders including private equity firm Riverstone Holdings, which has a direct 45% stake, and Kerogen Capital, which holds an indirect share, are currently mulling a sale of the company in light of recent setbacks, Bloomberg reported in early September, citing sources. ™
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