UK shale gas explorer Cuadrilla is to begin demobilising hydraulic fracturing equipment in northern England, while flow testing of its second horizontal shale gas well at the flagship Preston New Road site kicks off.
Cuadrilla said on Monday that testing at the second well, which was partially fractured in August, is to move forward in the next few weeks.
Chief executive Francis Egan said: “We believe that this will further demonstrate the huge commercial opportunity here.
“Given the lower carbon footprint of UK shale gas compared to that of gas imported by ship from overseas, it clearly makes sense to look to develop this local resource rather than increasing reliance on imports,” he said.
In addition, the operator said the latest work programme at Preston New Road also included demobilising hydraulic fracturing equipment.
Hydraulic fracturing has been suspended at the site since a 2.9 magnitude tremor last month. Industry regulators launched the investigation into the induced seismic activity, which significantly exceeded the 0.5 magnitude on the Richter scale threshold.
Cuadrilla confirmed on Monday it continued to assist the Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) on a series of technical studies arising out of a seismic event.
However, a timeframe has not been agreed with the OGA for this work to be completed and further hydraulic fracturing will not take place at Preston New Road before current planning permission for fracturing expires at the end of November, the company said.
In February, Cuadrilla announced results from flow-testing of the UK’s first ever horizontal shale gas exploration well, which confirmed a high-quality natural gas resource in the Lower Bowland shale, capable of flowing to surface.
The British Geological Survey has previously estimated natural gas resource potential in the Bowland shale at around 1300 trillion cubic feet.