Cuadrilla Resources

This article is part of the Spinwatch Fracking Portal and project

Cuadrilla Resources is an energy company set up in 2007 and based in Lancashire. It has pioneered the shale gas industry's efforts to kick-start fracking across the UK, employing a raft of heavyweight lobbyists and enjoying easy access to government ministers.

Background

Cuadrilla is a UK-registered company privately owned by its management team and two investors, the Australian drilling and engineering company AJ Lucas (43%) and former BP CEO John Browne's Riverstone LLC. It is backed by British Gas.

The firm employs 'some 70 staff in the UK both directly employed and through contractors, mostly based at the well sites. The main contracting partner in the UK is PR Marriott Drilling Ltd based in Chesterfield, which has over 60 years of drilling experience in Britain'.

History of fracking

'Earth tremors' in Blackpool

In November 2011, a damning report commissioned by Cuadrilla revealed the company's own fracking operations at Banks, near Merseyside, were the 'probable' cause of 50 separate earthquake tremors in the Blackpool area from earlier in the year.

The announcement proved controversial for the entire industry, and forced the company to halt its activities after the government implemented a moratorium on fracking while it reviewed the implications of the report. This was later lifted in December 2012, despite mounting public concern.

Cuadrilla's attempt to resume exploration elsewhere in 2013 at Balcombe in Sussex were met by strong protests from local residents and campaign groups, hampering its operations. In a significant victory for the anti-fracking lobby and local communities, Cuadrilla announced in October 2013 that it would pull out from its site in Blackpool after the continued disruption made production commercially non-viable.

The battle for Lancashire

In July 2013, Cuadrilla announced it would divest its focus from West Sussex to Fylde area of Lancashire. In May and June 2014 it submitted applications to frack at sites Preston New Road and at nearby Roseacre Wood.

A year later, in June 2015, Cuadrilla's plans were rejected by members of Lancashire County Council's development control committee. The company appealed. Conservative ministers subsequently gave themselves new powers in late 2015 to override local councils' planning decisions. On October 2016, the new communities and planning secretary Sajid Javid ruled to uphold the appeal, paving the way for shale gas production at Preston New Road next year.

Censure by the Advertising Standards Authority

In 2012 lobbyists PPS produced a brochure for Cuadrilla, titled "Summer 2012 Exploring For Natural Gas Cuadrilla Resources is exploring for natural gas in Lancashire" which the Advertising Standards Authority found contained claims that partially breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising) and 3.11 (Exaggeration).

This was despite PPS' proclaimed communication strategy that since 2011 'has focused on making Cuadrilla and its operations as transparent as possible so that the government, media and opinion-formers could gain trust in the company’s corporate governance and technology'.

Constituencies including Cuadrilla licences

Cuadrilla was awarded eight shale licences across 18 licence blocks by the Oil and Gas Authority under the 14th licensing round in 2015. The constituencies covering these licensed areas include:

• Barnsley East – Michael Dugher, MP
• Beverley and Holderness – Graham Stuart
• Don Valley – Caroline Flint, MP (Labour)
• Doncaster Central – Rosie Winterton
• Doncaster North – Ed Miliband
• Wentworth and Dearne – John Healey
• East Yorkshire – Greg Knight
• Fylde – Mark Menzies
• Haltemprice and Howden – David Davis
• Scarborough and Whitby – Robert Goodwill
• Selby and Ainsty – Nigel Adams
• York Outer – Julian Sturdy
• Thirsk and Malton – Kevin Hollinrake, MP (Conservative)

People

Management team

• Francis Egan - chief executive
• Matt Lambert - director of government and public affairs since 2013 to present. Has previously worked for Betfair, Microsoft, lobbyists Grayling and was a speechwriter and researcher for Liberal Democrats in the 1980s
• Andrew Quarles Van Ufford
• Andrew Price
• Eric Vaughan - CEO, previously chief technology Officer (circa 2012), 'head of well development' 2015
• Leon Jennings - health, safety and environment director Cuadrilla
• Ken Lowe - Water management (circa 2012)
• Huw Clarke - Exploration geologist, joined Cuadrilla in 2009. Senior well site geologist for Cuadrilla’s Bowland shale operations and conducted the geological operations for the Preese Hall 1 shale gas discovery well. Speaker at the March 2014 Shale Gas conference in London.
• Jacqui Reid, communications and public affairs manager at Cuadrilla Resources Ltd
• Sam Schofield, Lancashire communications and public affairs manager

Former executives

• Tony Carruthers - commercial director Cuadrilla Resources for 3.5 years from April 2012 – September 2015. Before that was commercial manager East Africa for Tullow Oil from September 2010 – March 2012. Now a director of Forty Green Energy Ltd.

Directors of the Board

• Mark Miller - Director, Cuadrilla Resources; Director and VP of Cuadrilla Resource Holdings. From the USA, he founded and ran Eastern Reservoir Service until 2005.
• Dennis Carlton - Director, Cuadrilla Resources; Director, Cuadrilla Resource Holdings. From the USA, he founded and ran Evergreen Resources until 2004. He led the successful development of coal bed methane in Colorado; his exploits appear in Gasland
• Peter Turner Director, Cuadrilla Resources, also manages its exploration activities in mainland Europe. Turner is a former academic who headed the Petroleum Geosciences Unit at the University of Birmingham. He holds a B.Sc, a PhD and an honory D.Sc in Geology and has written over 150 publications and books. Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.

Cuadrilla Resource Holdings non-executive directors

• Anthony Carruthers (appointed 19 April 2012)
• Francis Egan (appointed 17 July 2012)
• Roy Franklin (appointed 7 February 2012
• Neville Lancaster Jr
• Haroun Van Hovell Tot Westerflier - a managing director of Riverstone Holdings
• Roy Franklin
• Philip Arnall (appointed 3 February 2014)
• Ivor Orchard (appointed 3 February 2014)
• Andrew Quarles Van Ufford (appointed May 2013)

• 25/05/2011 New Company Secretary Mr A.C. Price appointed

Former directors

• John Browne - former Cuadrilla chairman, and managing partner of Riverstone Holdings, the venture capital firm that backs it

• Allan Campbell (left the board 5 February 2014) | Anthony Kelly (left 5 February 2014) | Mark Miller (left 29 April 2013) | Dennis Carlton (27 February 2013)

• 07/02/2012 Mr M.P. Tonkin left the board
• ALDLEX LIMITED resigned as Company Secretary 24 December 2012

Lobbying firms and consultants

2012-2016

• Bell Pottinger Public Affairs - Mark Linder . However BPPA appears to have lost the account after February 2014.

• PPS - the planning lobbyist specialists have retained Cuadrilla as a client since 2011 when it managed the firm's website and produced a brochure for Cuadrilla, titled "Summer 2012 Exploring For Natural Gas Cuadrilla Resources is exploring for natural gas in Lancashire" that the ASA later ruled was partially misleading.

• Hanover Communications from March 2014 onwards. . Hanover's Charles Lewington was spotted socialising in February 2014 with the climate sceptic Tory environment secretary Owen Paterson and former energy minister Charles Hendry at the Intercontinental Hotel bar in Park Lane, London
• Lexington Communications has provided UK PA consultancy services to Cuadrilla since September 2015 (it has had Igas Energy as a client for several years prior). It handles Cuadrilla's 'community information line'.
• Portland Communications from 2015
• Westbourne Communications has provided UK PA consultancy services to Cuadrilla Bowland from December 2013-

Consultants

• Paul Kelly - communications consultant and director of PPS Group

Former

• Nick Sutcliffe - communications consultant and director of PPS Group. Sutcliffe is also politician for Guildford District Council (Conservative Councillor for Ash South & Tongham Ward).

Law firms

Peachy & Co LLP was appointed to act for Cuadrilla in the UK from July 2008, as the firm has no in-house legal resource in the UK. This role has involved acting for the oil and gas firm:

• in February 2010 on a group restructuring and a $58m capital investment led by Riverstone/Carlyle Global Energy and Power Funds managed by Riverstone Holdings LLC and AJ Lucas Group Ltd, a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

• in December 2011 on Cuadrilla's acquisition of a significant equity participation in a Hungarian O&G project, including successfully fracking a test well. Peachey's website reported that 'Further equity interests will be acquired following further seismic work and the drilling of a further exploratory well during 2012'.

• in October 2012 with negotiations with the UK Government to recommence its hydraulic fracking operations in the UK.

In June 2013 Peachey & Co acted for the Australian stock exchange quoted company A J Lucas Group Ltd in the sale of part of its interest in the Bowland shale gas exploration licence area to Centrica plc. A J Lucas is a major shareholder in Cuadrilla Resources which is the co-owner on the licence.

In March 2013 The Lawyer magazine reported that former Slaughter and May lawyer Hubert Ashton, now a partner at Peachey, admitted that the past few months of exploratory digging, questions in the House and earthquakes have been “interesting”.

Auditors and bankers

• KPMG
• HSBC

Affiliations

• All-Party Parliamentary Group on Unconventional Oil and Gas which received £3000 from Cuadrilla, registered June 2013 and a further £1,916 from Cuadrilla in November 2015
• Institute of Directors (IOD) - Cuadrilla sponsored a publication by IOD on the prospects for UK shale gas, published in May 2013
• Shale Gas Europe - Cuadrilla is listed as a supporter of this trade lobby group, which is run by lobbyists FTI Consulting
• Task Force on Shale Gas (UK) - listed as a funder of this 'independent' group, whose secretariat is lobbying and PR company Edelman

Contact details

• Website

http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/

• Address:

Cuadrilla Resources Ltd

Cuadrilla House, Unit 6 Sceptre Court

Sceptre Way, Bamber Bridge

Preston

PR5 6AW

Resources

See: Fracking lobbying firms See: Fracking Spads

Articles

• Andy Rowell, Emails reveal Glasgow University academics' close links to fracking industry, Spinwatch, 24 August 2016
• Melissa Jones and Andy Rowell, Access all areas: Westminster's (vast) fracking lobby exposed, 29 April 2015.
• James Cusick, How lobbying works – and why this Bill won’t change a fracking thing, The Independent, 18 August 2013
• Robin McKie, Will fracking in Lancashire's green hills solve Britain's energy crisis?, The Observer, Sunday 7 July 2013
• Terry McCallister, Cuadrilla announces major fracking expansion in UK, The Guardian, Friday 5 July 2013 18.14 BST
• Fiona Harvey, Lord Browne promises to invest 'whatever it takes' in UK fracking, guardian.co.uk, 12 March 2013 15.00 GMT

Videos

• Meet the Frackers: a Spinwatch lobbying tour, Spinwatch | YouTube, 16 January 2017.
• We will stick to fracking plan, says Cuadrilla boss, Channel4 News, YouTube
• Cuadrilla YouTube channel, YouTube - cuadrillaresources
• Cuadrilla resources- an introduction, YouTube - cuadrillaresources, 25 April 2013
• Cuadrilla environmental impact assessment, YouTube - cuadrillaresources, 30 July 2014

Public information series:

• Hydraulic fracturing, YouTube - cuadrillaresources, 12 February 2014
• Site lifecycle animation, YouTube - cuadrillaresources, 21 November 2013
• Our new sites, YouTube - cuadrillaresources, 13 February 2014
• Well design, YouTube - cuadrillaresources, 12 February 2:014
• Surface story, YouTube - cuadrillaresources, 25 November 2013