Cuadrilla Resources Holdings Ltd

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FIXMENOW I think i've hopelessly mixed up Cuadrilla and Centrica. fix asafp.

Cuadrilla is a privately-owned oil and gas exploration and production company, focused on discovering and recovering natural resources, primarily natural gas, from shale rock. The company was founded in 2007, and has offices in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire.

Company

Ownership

Note: Persons with significant control are not disclosed at Companies House, under Section 790ZG: Power to make regulations protecting material.
Sources: About Us. Cuadrilla Resources. Accessed Sept.18.2018.

Structure

  • Cuadrilla Resources Holdings Ltd, holdco, CH
    • Cuadrilla Resources Ltd, management services to subsidiaries, CH
      • Cuadrilla Bowland Ltd, oil and gas exploration, [CH]
      • Cuadrilla Elswick Ltd, oil and gas exploration, [CH]
      • Cuadrilla Balcombe Ltd, [CH]
      • Cuadrilla Well Services Ltd, services for oil and gas exploration, CH
      • ... ... A/cs Dec.31.2017, p.27

AJ Lucas Group is involved in fracking at the Preston New Road site. Holds various licences. Partnered with INEOS, Angus Energy and Spirit Energy, a Centrica subsid.ref See UK Shale Exploration.
AJ Lucas is 50% owned and substantially bankrolled by private equity firm Kerogen Capital's Kerogen Investments No.1 (HK) Ltd - 100% owned by a company reg. in the Cayman Islands, just like its parent (CH).ref (See diagrams). Interestingly, just like Cuadrilla, Kerogen's PSCs are not disclosed.

  • Jan.2018: Angus Energy plc became a 25% investment partner in the PEDL 244 Balcombe exploration licence. As part of the agreement, Angus Energy will also pay the costs of the well test program. The Oil and Gas Authority has given consent for the transfer of operatorship from Cuadrilla to Angus Energy. The ownership of the Balcombe licence after the transaction is:
    • 56.25%: Cuadrilla
    • 18.75%: A J Lucas
    • 25.00%: Angus Energy plc
  • 2013: Centrica plc took a 25% share of the Bowland licence.

People

Roy Franklin OBE is Chairman of Cuadrilla and the CEO is Francis Egan.

  • Roy Franklin was appointed Chairman of Cuadrilla Resources in 2015, having joined the Board in 2012. A geologist by training, he has extensive petroleum industry experience, including several executive positions with British oil and gas companies. He joined the advisory board of Kerogen Partners, which is a major investor in AJ Lucas, a Cuadrilla shareholder, in 2011. His career span includes 18 years at BP where he headed up BP’s Exploration’s acquisition and divestitures group, four years as Group Managing Director of Clyde Petroleum and eight years as Chief Executive Officer of Paladin Resources plc. He is Deputy Chairman of Statoil A/S, the privatised Norwegian State oil company, and is also a director of Santos Ltd, an Australian-listed oil and gas company, and AmecFW plc, the London-listed contracting engineering company. Roy was awarded ‘Order of the British Empire’ in 2004 in recognition of his services to the oil and gas industry.
  • Francis Egan has over 30 years of diverse international experience working in engineering and management roles in the upstream oil and gas industry. Prior to joining Cuadrilla, Francis worked in Houston, Texas as President of Production for BHP Billiton Petroleum. He also held management roles at BHP in Algeria, Pakistan, UK and Australia. Prior to joining BHP Billiton, Francis spent eight years with Marathon Oil in a variety of engineering and commercial roles.

Timeline

Gas Storage Facilities

  • Dec.2017: The Competition & Markets Authority agreed to grant Centrica plc and Centrica Storage Ltd's request to be released from the Rough Undertakings. CSL decided that it could no longer operate Rough as a storage facility as the facility was no longer capable of safe injection operations due to the age and condition of the asset, and that due to the economics of seasonal storage and the cost of refurbishing or rebuilding the facility, neither pathway would be economic.ref
  • Jun.2017: Rough Gas Storage: Centrica announced the closure of the Rough gas storage site due to safety concerns. The rundown of the plant will take up to 4 years to complete.ref
  • Nov.2002: Rough Gas Storage: Centrica bought the Rough storage plant back from Dynergy.ref The purchase led to the Competition Commission requesting certain undertakings being put in place due to Centrica's control of the Morecambe Bay gas fields which at the time were providing 10–15% of the UK's gas supply. In 2003 Centrica provided DECC with a set of undertakings, and Centrica Storage Ltd was formed. Centrica Storage Ltd still operates the Rough facility in accordance with the undertakings.
  • Nov.2001: Rough Gas Storage: BG Storage sold the Rough Facility to US company DynegyWikipedia-W.svg.
  • Aug.1997: Rough Gas Storage: BG Storage Ltd was created as a standalone business after the breakup of British Gas plc in Feb.1997, due to competition reasons.CH
  • 1983: The British Gas Corporation made the final decision to convert Rough into a natural gas storage facility, which would become the largest gas storage facility built in the UK continental shelf. Rough became operational in 1985.
  • 1980: Rough Gas Storage: the British Gas Corporation purchased the Rough field, with 33% of reserves depleted. with the idea of converting it into a gas storage facility to manage seasonal trends in the supply and demand of gas in the UK.
  • 1979: Hornsea Gas Storage: the British Gas Corporation purchased the Hornsea facility.ref

notes 4(e) and 12.

Centrica plc

  • Feb.2018: British Gas Lite launched, an online-only energy offering to small businesses in the UK.ref,website
  • Dec.2017: Also disposed of NSIP (ETS) Ltd to Antin North Sea 2 Ltd.
  • Nov.2017: REstore NV acquired, a Belgian demand response aggregator. The business

will form part of the Distributed Energy & Power business unit.ref

  • Sept.2017: CQ Energy Canada Partnership, the E&P joint venture in which Centrica plc owned a 60% interest, was sold to a consortium comprising MIE Holding Corporation, the Can-China Global Resource Fund and Mercuria.ref In line with its strategy announced in Jul.2015, the divestment meant E&P activity was now solely focused on European assets.
  • Aug.2017: The Langage and South Humber Bank combined cycle gas turbine power stations, plus the King’s Lynn B new build development were sold to EP UK Investments Ltd.ref
  • Jul.2017: Spirit Energy Ltd: Centrica and Bayerngas Norge AS combined their oil and gas Exploration & Production businesses to form a new company. The joint venture, owned by Centrica (69%) and Bayerngas's former shareholders (31%),ref began trading in Dec.2017.ref, website
  • Jun.2017: Local Heroes was launched as part of the shift into more customer-facing businesses.ref Local Heroes is an online home services company working with local tradespeople in a variety of trades including plumbing, electricians and heating engineers.ref
  • May.2017: Divested its gas assets in Trinidad and Tobago to Shell Exploration and Production.ref
  • Feb.2017: Lincs Wind Farm: the Group sold its 50% shareholding to the Macquarie's UK Green Investment Bank Financial Services managed entities and the UK Green Investment Bank plc.
  • May.2016: ENER-G Cogen International Ltd acquired, a supplier and operator of combined heat and power systems, from parent company ENER-G Holdings plc (now Ylem Group Ltd).ref,ref
  • Apr.2016: Neas Energy A/S acquired, a Danish firm providing energy management and revenue optimisation services for decentralised 3rd-party owned assets.ref,ref,ref
  • Nov.2015: Direct Energy acquired Panoramic Power, a provider of device-level energy management technology. The acquisition provided Centrica with capabilities in energy management technology and data science expertise, in addition to full control over research and development activity.ref
  • Feb.2015: British Gas acquired the remaining 79% shareholdings in AlertMe, a UK-based connected home company that provided energy management products and services. AlertMe provided the technical platform that underpinned British Gas' existing Connected Homes activity, including its remote heating control product, Hive Active Heating. The acquisition gave British Gas ownership and control over a scalable technology platform, software development capability, data analytics and a patent portfolio. The acquisition also enabled further development of connected homes products and services in other parts of the Group, through Direct Energy in North America, and Bord Gáis in the Republic of Ireland. (Commencing in Oct.2010, British Gas had acquired ~16% stake, gradually increasing to 21%.) ref
  • Feb.2015: Strategic review launched. It concluded that Centrica's strength lay in being a customer-facing business and that all activities and priorities would focus on meeting customers' changing needs. The shape of the Group would be reworked to reflect this, including a Group-wide efficiency programme that would reduce employee numbers by around 6,000.ref
  • 2012: Hive was established part of Centrica's Connected Home offering, building on its Remote Heating Control service provided through its British Gas subsidiary. Hive is one of the largest connected home providers in the UK and provides smart home technologies including a smart thermostat that allows customers to control heating and hot water in their homes via the company's website or app.ref,ref
  • Aug.2014, Tullow Oil revealed significant oil discoveries had been made in the Etom 1 exploration well and testing block 10BB, which expanded the already proven South Lokichar Basin "significantly northwards," taking in an additional 247sq km.ref
  • Mar.2014: Acquired the retail arm and other assets belonging to Ireland's state-owned Bord Gáis Energy.ref
  • Mar.2014: [iCON Infrastructure] announced that it had agreed to acquire 100% of firmus energy (regulated gas distribution network) from Bord Gáis Éireann, the Irish state-owned energy company. The transaction forms part of the wider acquisition of Bord Gáis Energy by a consortium comprising iCON Infrastructure Partners II LP, Centrica plc and Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners LP.ref
  • Jul.2013: Announced that Centrica would acquire the energy marketing unit of American company Hess Corporation.ref
  • 2013: The Suncor upstream acquisition involved the formation of the CQ Energy Canada Partnership to acquire Suncor Energy’s North American gas and oil assets. CQECP was owned and funded by Centrica (60%) and Qatar Petroleum International (40%).
  • Apr.2012: Centrica closed its German trading division Centrica Energie GmbH.ref
  • Nov.2011: Agreed to buy stakes in 8 fields on the Norwegian continental shelf from Statoil ASA. In a second deal, Centrica agreed to buy 5 billion cubic meters a year gas from Statoil from 2015 to 2025 as equal to 5% of gas consumption in the UK.ref
  • Mar.2011: Agreed the sale of the electricity and gas supply business of its Dutch subsidiary Oxxio to Eneco Holding NV (owns the offshore wind farm, Isle of Wight). The sale completed Centrica's exit from the supply of electricity and gas in Continental Europe, following the earlier disposal of its supply businesses in Belgium and Spain.ref
  • Feb.2011: Centrica signed a 3-year contract with QatarGas for the purchase of 2.4 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas.ref
  • Nov.2010: Cool Planet Technologies Ltd: British Gas New Energy (subsid.) acquired the assets of heat pump installation company Cool Planet Technologies. This aimed to boost the company's strategy of developing a broad range of low carbon technologies and advice.ref
  • Aug.2010: the Group acquired full control of a business constituting a portfolio of interests in a number of gas assets located off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago. The portfolio consists of a producing gas field which supplies gas into the Atlantic LNG facility as well as areas of development and exploration.
  • Aug.2010: disposed of its 100% interest in Hummingbird Oil Pte Ltd, a non-core investment acquired during the 2009 acquisition of Venture plc.
  • Jun.2010: Direct Energy (Canadian subsid) acquired Clockwork Home Services Inc, and Air Time Canada Inc. The acquisition made Centrica the largest provider of heating and cooling, plumbing and electrical services in North America.ref
  • Feb.2010: disposed of Lincs.
  • 2010: Centrica entered into joint venture arrangements with Tullow Oil plc to explore for oil in the South Lokichar Basin in Kenya.
  • 2010: The Group completed its sale of its Spanish business, Centrica Energía SL.
  • 2010 a/cs: The Group’s share of joint ventures’ and associates’ gross assets and gross liabilities at 31 December 2010 principally comprised of its interests in Braes of Doune Wind Farm (Scotland) Ltd, Barrow Offshore Wind Ltd, GLID Wind Farms TopCo Ltd, Lincs Wind Farm Ltd, Lake Acquisitions Ltd (British Energy) and NNB Holding Company Ltd, Secure Electrans Ltd and Alertme.com Ltd, Bacton Storage Company Ltd, North Sea Infrastructure Partners Ltd and Ten Degrees North Energy Ltd ?What happened to them?
  • 2010 a/cs: Joint ventures entered into during 2009: Barrow Offshore Wind Ltd, Braes of Doune Wind Farm (Scotland) Ltd, Glens of Foundland Wind Farm Ltd, GLID Wind Farms TopCo Limited, Inner Dowsing Wind Farm Ltd, Lynn Wind Farm Ltd. Associates: Alertme.com Ltd, Lake Acquisitions Ltd, North Sea Infrastructure Partners Ltd. Other investments: Point Fortin LNG Exports Ltd ref
  • Dec.2009: disposed of 50% of the Group’s interest in GLID Wind Farms TopCo Ltd.
  • Nov.2009: disposed of the Group’s 100% interest in Segebel
  • Aug.2009: Venture Production plc, a North Sea gas producer, was acquired after a hostile takeover.ref
  • Sept.2008: Acquired the Caythorpe gas-producing field near Bridlington to use for storage purposes.ref
  • Aug.2008: Acquired a 20% stake in nuclear power generator British Energy from EDF Energy.ref
  • 2007: British Gas New Energy ... renewable energy provider ...
  • Dec.2005: OneTel business sold to Carphone Warehouse.ref
  • Oct.2004: Centrica acquired the Dyno franchise group, best known for its Dyno-Rod drains unblocking service.ref, ref Dyno-Rod Ltd, CH
  • Jul.2004: Centrica sold the AA to two private equity firms, CVC Capital Partners and Permira (who merged the AA with Saga under Acromas Holdings in Jul.2007).ref
  • Aug.2003: Goldfish credit card business sold to Lloyds TSB.ref (who sold it to Morgan Stanley Bank International Ltd in Dec.2005).ref
  • Oct.2002: Lattice Group plc merged with National Grid Group plc to form National Grid Transco plc. The merger united the gas and high voltage electricity transmission businesses, the gas distribution business, and other subsidiaries including US Gas & Electricity Distribution business. During 2005, 4 of the 8 gas distribution networks were sold to private buyers, and the Company changed its name to "National Grid". In 2016, the 4 remaining National Grid Gas Distribution Networks became an independent company called Cadent Gas Ltd, now owned by a number of different investors.
  • Aug.2001: Goldfish credit card, in partnership with Lloyds TSB.ref
  • Jul.2001: Onetel, a residential telecoms operator, was acquired.ref
  • 2001: OfGem launched a set of wholesale energy trading reforms dubbed the ‘New Electricity Trading Arrangement’ (NETA). These reforms were aimed at weakening suppliers' grip on the wholesale market. With NETA, Ofgem declared the deregulation process over and announced the end of price controls in the domestic energy sector. Since 2001, the cost of energy in the UK has been set by the market.ref
  • Oct.2000: A second demerger took place and as a result BG plc became 2 companies:
    • BG Group plc, the international elements of the gas business.
    • Lattice Group plc: Transco became part of Lattice Group plc, which by now was just one of the 3 successor companies to British Gas plc. Lattice Group plc‘s primary responsibility was UK Gas Transmission & Distribution (which by now was reshaped into 8 networks, from 12 Regions). Lattice also owned a number of Telecoms infrastructure businesses including SST (UK) Ltd. Other businesses held under the Lattice Enterprises portfolio included Advantica, Fulcrum Connections, Lattice Energy Services and Lattice Property.
  • Jul.2000: Centrica moved into the North American energy supply market via the acquisition of Canadian company Direct Energy.ref Direct Energy's operations were subsequently considerably expanded through a number of further acquisitions, including Enbridge Services in Jan.2002.ref
  • Jul.1999: Centrica acquired the Automobile Association.ref
  • 1998: Centrica's supplier monopoly for gas came to an end. Centrica maintained the British Gas retail brand, but is only allowed to use this brand name in the UK. The electricity market also opened up to competition and, through the British Gas brand, the company started supplying its first domestic electricity customers.ref
  • 1998: The Electricity Markets were opened. The RECs could now acquire customers from each other, and British Gas could take on electricity customers.ref
  • Feb.1997: British Gas plc split to form 2 separate publicly-listed companies:
    • Centrica plc took over the Gas Sales and Gas Trading, Services and Retail businesses, together with the gas production operations of the North and South Morecambe gas fields.ref
    • BG plc got the Transportation and Storage business (Transco) and the Exploration and Production (excl. North and South Morecambe gas fields), International Downstream, Research & Technology and Properties business. BG plc was acquired by Royal Dutch Shell in Apr.2015.ref

British Gas plc

  • 1996: The Gas supply markets were opened, meaning consumers could now choose their gas supplier. The Regional Electricity Companies competed with British Gas for customers.
  • 1994: In preparation for the opening up of the gas supply markets, British Gas plc went through a major restructuring, which separated the "Gas Business in Great Britain" into 5 divisions:
    • Public Gas Supply, the domestic gas market
    • Business Gas (contract trading), for supplies over 2,500 therms p.a.
    • Transportation and Storage of gas (later named Transco)
    • Service and Installation
    • Retail (later named Energy Centres)

E&P and Global continued to operate in international markets.

  • 1991: The 12 regions were re-organised into 91 districts covering the whole of Britain.
  • 1990: The Area Electricity Boards were turned into Regional Electricity Companies, and privatised. The National Grid was formed.
  • 1989-1990: British Gas plc was re-structured into 3 separate business units:
    • Gas Business in Great Britain
    • Exploration and Production (E&P)
    • Global Gas
  • Dec.1986: British Gas plc was floated on the stock market, and sold to private investors.ref

The govt created an industry regulator OfGas, the Office of Gas Supply, to protect customers. OfGas later became part of OfGem, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets. (Gas Act 1986)

  • Aug.1986: The assets of the British Gas Corporation were transferred to newly-created govt-owned British Gas plc.

British Gas Corporation

  • 1982: The Oil and Gas (Enterprise) Act 1982 was passed. This, among other things, enabled the govt to dispose of the British Gas Corporation's assets and obliged the Corporation to carry gas for 3rd parties. These were the first moves towards privatisation of the industry. ref
  • 1973: The Regional Gas Boards were merged into the British Gas Corporation, each becoming a "Region" of the corporation. The Regions were given names reflecting their status, eg. the North East Gas Board (NEGB) became North East Gas (NEGAS).

The Gas Council was abolished and replaced by the British Gas Corporation.ref, ref

  • 1972: The British Gas Corporation was created. It was responsible for development and maintenance of the supply of gas to Great Britain. Its leadership was appointed and supervised by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry until 1974, when those powers were vested in the newly-created position of Secretary of State for Energy. (Gas Act 1972)

Origins

  • 1965-1977: Natural gas replaced coal gas, when large reserves of natural gas in the North Sea were discovered.ref,ref
  • May.1949: Chartered Gas Light & Coke Company was nationalised, and was placed under control of the new North Thames Gas Board, one of the 12 regional Area Gas Boards.ref
  • 1948: Nationalisation: The Gas Industry was nationalised, merging ~1,062 privately-owned and municipal gas companies into 12 Area Gas Boards, each being a separate body with its own management structure. Each Area Board was divided into geographical divisions, often further divided into smaller districts. These boards were collectively known as "The Gas Board".ref Gas boardWikipedia-W.svg
    The Gas Council was established to act as a liaison between the Area Boards and the Ministry of Fuel and Power, although the Council had no direct powers over the Boards. The Gas Council was made up of the 12 Area Board Chairmen, plus a chairman of its own.ref (Gas Act 1948)
  • 1944: The Ministry of Fuel and Power set up a Committee of Enquiry under the Chairmanship of Geoffrey Heyworth 'To review the structure and organisation of the Gas Industry, to advise what changes have now become necessary in order to develop and cheapen gas supplies to all types of consumers and to make recommendations'. The Heyworth Report was published in Dec.1945. While it did not itself recommend nationalisation, the report formed the basis of the Gas Act 1948, which nationalised the gas industry in England, Scotland and Wales.
  • Jun.1942: The Ministry of Fuel and Power was created from functions separated from the Board of Trade. It took charge of coal production, allocation of fuel supplies, control of energy prices and petrol rationing.
  • 1939: In 1939 war again brought the problems of 1914 but with the added damage to gasworks and to apparatus in the street caused by air raids.
  • 1930s: The post-war depression affected the gas industry as much as any other; some smaller companies went bankrupt and amalgamations continued. The 1930's saw the rise of the holding company. Holding companies bought up control of gas undertakings, allowing them to continue trading as the original company, and provided central control and assistance in financial, management and technical areas. By 1949 there were some 14 holding companies controlling about 260 undertakings.
  • 1920: The Gas Regulation Act 1920 changed the basis of charging for gas and introduced a national basis for the testing and reporting of gas quality. From the start of gas regulation in the mid 19th century the quality of gas had been judged by its illuminating power. The act changed this to the heating power (calorific value) of the gas.
  • ?date?: George LiveseyWikipedia-W.svg, chairman of the South Metropolitan Gas Company, was impressed and alarmed by the power of the new unions. He introduced a new system of profit sharing, giving workers an interest in the success of the companies they worked for, with benefits of cash bonuses and cheap gas. Co-partnership, as it became known, spread throughout the industry.ref
  • 1889: Growth and consolidation of the Gas Industry was paralleled by an upsurge in discontent amongst the workers. This led to the first non-skilled workers' union, the Gas Workers' Union, being established; its first major achievement was the 8-hour day.ref
  • 1882: The passing of the Electric Lighting Bill 1882 granted newly-established electrical lighting companies the right of exploitation in public areas, which resulted in increasing competition for Chartered Gas Light & Coke. At the same time, the Company was broading its business base into renting gas stoves for heating and cooking.
  • ~1880: The development of electricity and the advent of the electric lamp created a serious rival to gas in its main market of lighting. The invention of the gas mantle by Carl Auer von WelsbachWikipedia-W.svg in 1890 enabled the gas industry to match electricity for lighting. While gas lighting was still in use domestically and for street lighting until after World War II, the decline in the lighting load was established and the use of gas for heating purposes accelerated. Carl Auer von Welsbach § Gas mantleWikipedia-W.svg
  • 1870s/1880s: The Chartered Gas Light & Coke Company absorbed the other large gas Companies operating in London.
  • 1867: A Parliamentary Committee advocated amalgamating the companies. The Chartered Gas Light & Coke, City of London and Great Central Companies were brought to a working agreement. (City of London Gas Act 1868)
  • 1860: The numerous private companies competed fiercely amongst themselves. Legislation was passed which ended the severe competition by allocating districts to companies. However, this was effectively an area monopoly, and resulted in extraordinary profits being extracted from customers. (Gas Act 1860)
  • 1855: The invention of the aerated burner by Robert BunsenWikipedia-W.svg was of major significance in the development of the use of gas for other purposes. Bunsen burnerWikipedia-W.svg.
  • 1812-1870s: Chartered Gas Light & Coke Company grew, absorbing numerous smaller companies. The company had a large and diverse transport fleet including ships, barges and railway wagons and locomotives to bring coal into the gasworks and take coke and by-products out.
  • Apr.1812: Gas Light and Coke CompanyWikipedia-W.svg was founded to supply coal gas and coke.ref At the time, highly inflammable coal gas (aka "Town Gas") was commonly used.Natural gas § Town gasWikipedia-W.svg
  • 1810: An Act to form the Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company was passed. It took a couple more years to raise the required capital. (Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company)
  • 1805: The first commercial gas plants were installed at industrial and commercial premises.
  • 1792: William Murdoch lit his house at Redruth, Cornwall with gas. William Murdoch § Gas lightingWikipedia-W.svg
Additional Sources: All Company Reports and Results Centrica plc. Accessed Dec.2018.

To Research:

  • Accord Electricity Ltd reg. in Nov.1993. Name changed in Feb.1994 to Accord Energy Ltd. Company commenced operations in Jul.1994 with the signing of a JV agreement between British Gas plc (51%) + NGC Great Britain Ltd (was NGC UK Ltd, became Dynergy in 1998) (owned by NGC Corporation, USA) (49%). In Oct.1996 ownership trans to GB Gas Holdings Ltd (restructure prior to British Gas plc demerger). Then in Feb.2011 changed to Centrica Energy Ltd. British Gas plc was parent in 1993. Activity was wholesale energy trading, comprising the purchase and sale of gas, oil and leccy. 2017 a/cs: parent = GB Gas Holdings Ltd. Name = Centrica Energy Ltd. Still wholesale trading.

See also CH, Bloomberg

Articles

  • Nov.11.2018: Fracking firm boss says it didn't expect to cause such serious quakes. Drilling at Preston New Road site in Lancashire has triggered 37 minor quakes in 3 weeks. Two of those have been powerful enough to exceed a regulatory threshold that requires fracking to stop, and on a third occasion the company voluntarily ceased operations when it neared the limit. The Green Party said the comments, made months before earthquakes that breached the regulatory limit, showed Cuadrilla was “obviously in way over their heads”. Adam Vaughan, The Guardian.
  • Nov.01.2018: Fracking company fails to win higher limit on tremors. The govt has rejected Cuadrilla's request to relax rules on earthquakes caused by fracking despite claims that the limits could prevent it testing Britain’s shale gas potential. Cuadrilla has caused nearly 30 tremors since it resumed fracking at Preston New Road in Lancashire last month. Under the govt’s “traffic light” system, introduced after Cuadrilla stopped its previous fracking attempt in 2011 when it caused two tremors of up to 2.3 magnitude, the company has to cease fracking for 18 hours after a tremor of more than 0.5, even though tremors below 1.5 magnitude cannot be felt at the surface. Cuadrilla has twice fallen foul of the rules over the past week, with tremors measuring 0.8 and 1.1 magnitude. Claire Perry, the energy minister, said that the current restrictions were “entirely appropriate” during the initial testing phase. The campaign group Frack Free Lancashire rejected Cuadrilla’s call for a higher limit. Emily Gosden, The Times.
  • Apr.03.2018: UK’s first horizontal shale gas well completed – fracking due late summer. Drilling of the UK's first horizontal shale gas well at Preston New Road, near Blackpool, has been completed, Cuadrilla announced this morning. Cuadrilla said it would begin drilling a 2nd horizontal shale gas well at the site “shortly” and expected to frack both wells from Jul-Sept.2018. Data from the Oil and Gas Authority shows that drilling began on Jan.11.2018. Lee Petts, chairman of Lancashire For Shale, said the announcement proved that 2018 would be a breakthrough year for shale gas. An inquiry opens on Apr.10 into Cuadrilla’s plans for another shale gas site in the Fylde area of Lancashire, at Roseacre Wood, about 4.5 miles from Preston New Road. The inquiry, at Blackpool Football Club, will focus on transport issues and will run for about 10 days. Ruth Hayhurst, Drill Or Drop.
  • Mar.27.2015: Lobbying group for fracking in Lancashire supported by firms mainly outside county. Supporters of the North West Energy Task Force, funded by Cuadrilla, include an elderly care home in Yorkshire and a Welsh fishing resort. Only 149 of the lobby group’s 343 small business supporters are based in Lancashire – less than half of the total. Just 14 are based in the Fylde, where Cuadrilla wants to launch the UK’s first full-scale fracking exploration project. The Task Force’s supporters include the London-based trade body Oil & Gas UK and the Morecambe and Lunesdale Conservative Association. Several small enterprises also appear to have been signed up as supporters multiple times. The group receives financial support from Cuadrilla and its investment partner Centrica, which also owns British Gas, to push the case for exploiting Lancashire’s shale. Cuadrilla’s applications to frack at two sites on the Fylde coast are currently being considered by Lancashire County Council. (...) Chris Green, The Independent. Also see North West Energy Task ForcePowerbase-graphic.svg.

References