Risk of Earthquakes from Hydraulic Fracturing
THE RISK OF EARTHQUAKES FROM HYDRAULIC FRACTURING IN THE UK – KEY STAKEHOLDERS PERCERPTION
1.0 Background
On the 1st April 2011, a magnitude 2.3M earthquake was recorded near the town of Blackpool, UK and this was followed on the 27th May 2011 by a second seismic occurrence of measuring 1.5 on Richter scale. These two events occurred close to Preese Hall drilling site, where Caudrilla Resources was extracting gas from a shale deposit using a new method called Hydraulic Fracturing, often referred to as Fracking. Immediately after the seismic events attention was focused on Caudrilla Resources and this new unconventional process that extracts natural gas by fracturing the surrounding rock. A detailed study of the geological data suggested that the two events occurred as a result of the reactivation of an existing fault. However, due to unavailability of detailed scientific data it was almost impossible to confirm that the well was sunk directly into the fault plain, and more difficult to infer that hydraulic fracturing caused the pressure changes that stimulated a distant fault causing it to slip. Further geomechanical analysis suggested that bedding planes in the Bowland Shale are so weak that it is inevitable that it will slip under stress and this provided a passage for fluid to flow out of the well and into the fault region (de Pater and Baisch, 2011). This occurrence was the first significant event that brought hydraulic fracturing under the spotlight in the UK. It was the beginning of a difficult course of action to regain public confidence, review existing operating standards, and re-engineer exploration for natural gas in the relatively new areas of UK shale resources (Neil, 2013).
2.0 Key Stakeholders
2.1 Academics/ Research Organizations
The report commissioned by Caudrilla Resources in 2011 to investigate the cause of the seismic event at Preese hall concluded that it is highly probable that the fracking at Preese Hall-1 well started the recorded
1.0 Background
On the 1st April 2011, a magnitude 2.3M earthquake was recorded near the town of Blackpool, UK and this was followed on the 27th May 2011 by a second seismic occurrence of measuring 1.5 on Richter scale. These two events occurred close to Preese Hall drilling site, where Caudrilla Resources was extracting gas from a shale deposit using a new method called Hydraulic Fracturing, often referred to as Fracking. Immediately after the seismic events attention was focused on Caudrilla Resources and this new unconventional process that extracts natural gas by fracturing the surrounding rock. A detailed study of the geological data suggested that the two events occurred as a result of the reactivation of an existing fault. However, due to unavailability of detailed scientific data it was almost impossible to confirm that the well was sunk directly into the fault plain, and more difficult to infer that hydraulic fracturing caused the pressure changes that stimulated a distant fault causing it to slip. Further geomechanical analysis suggested that bedding planes in the Bowland Shale are so weak that it is inevitable that it will slip under stress and this provided a passage for fluid to flow out of the well and into the fault region (de Pater and Baisch, 2011). This occurrence was the first significant event that brought hydraulic fracturing under the spotlight in the UK. It was the beginning of a difficult course of action to regain public confidence, review existing operating standards, and re-engineer exploration for natural gas in the relatively new areas of UK shale resources (Neil, 2013).
2.0 Key Stakeholders
2.1 Academics/ Research Organizations
The report commissioned by Caudrilla Resources in 2011 to investigate the cause of the seismic event at Preese hall concluded that it is highly probable that the fracking at Preese Hall-1 well started the recorded