Timeline: shale gas in the UK

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2011

2012

2013

2014

October

2015

December

  • Task Force on Shale Gas - publishes final report, concluding that 'shale gas can be produced safely and usefully in the UK', and that there is 'no more risk to the public from fracking than other comparable industries'. This echoes industry and UK government's position.

2016

January

  • 8: Senior executive of INEOS, Tim Pickering, reveals company’s intention to divert efforts in shale gas exploration away from Scotland, towards Cheshire and other areas of England, following significant costs of running informational community meetings. [1]
  • 12: Bailiffs evict an anti-fracking protest camp at the IGas Duttons Lane site near Chester, with the estimated involvement of 175 officers from four police forces, and nine arrests.[2]
  • 19: Nottinghamshire County Council approves IGas’s application for up to twelve groundwater monitoring boreholes at a proposed shale gas site, despite 314 public objections to the application. [4]
  • 31: A leaked government plan from July 2015, signed by three cabinet ministers, reveals proposals to take decisions for fracking wells away from local councils were tabled shortly after Lancashire County Council refused permission to Cuadrilla to frack wells in the Fylde.[5]

February

  • 5: IGas announces it will abandon plans to drill for coal bed methane at Upton near Chester, where a protest camp was previously evicted at the cost of £200,000 to Cheshire Police.[6]
  • 8: The Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire demands IGas pay the costs of the operation to evict a protest camp from its exploratory gas site at Upton.[7]
  • 9: An inquiry commences considering the planning appeals by Cuadrilla against Lancashire County Council’s refusal of applications to drill up to eight fracking wells, and seismic monitoring plans, across sites at Preston New Road and Roseacre Wood.[8]
  • 23: The Planning Inspectorate grants permission to Cuadrilla for site restoration and monitoring at the Grange Hill exploration site near Singleton in Lancashire, despite Lancashire County Council refusing permission in May 2015.[9]


March

  • 15: Ryedale District Council of North Yorkshire County Council votes against Third Energy’s planning application to frack near the village of Kirby Misperton, and recommends refusal of a scheme to frack the existing KM8 well.[10]
  • 16: The closing day of the public inquiry considering the planning appeals by Cuadrilla against Lancashire County Council’s refusal of applications to drill up to eight fracking wells, and seismic monitoring plans, across sites at Preston New Road and Roseacre Wood. [11]
  • 23: Coastal Oil and Gas appeals against the refusal of its application for an exploratory test well at Hendre Farm, Llanharan, by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council.[12]
  • 24: IGas refuses requests by The Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire to pay for the policing costs of the anti-fracking camp eviction in Upton in January 12 2016, following the company’s abandonment of its Duttons Lane fracking site. [13]
  • 26: Carl Sargeant, the Natural Resources Minister for Wales, extends a moratorium on unconventional gas and oil developments to underground coal gasification, preventing local authorities from approving planning applications for fracking sites without referring to Welsh Ministers. [14]
  • 30: Council officers for Surry approve plans by IGas to its oil and gas production sites near Bletchingley Central, over the next fifteen years. [15]


April

  • 6: Regulations on the permissible depths of fracking wells outlined in Section 50 of the Infrastructure Act 2015 come in to force. [16]


May

  • 5: INEOS sets out a timetable for its plans for seismic surveying and monitoring across three regions of England over summer 2016.[19]
  • 18: Speaking at Shale World UK Conference, the head of Cuadrilla, Francis Egan, urged the government to deliver on reducing the length of time that councils could take to decide planning applications.[20]
  • 23: North Yorkshire County Council’s planning committee formally approve Third Energy’s application to frack its existing well at Kirby Misperton in Ryedale.[21]
  • 27: UK Oil & Gas Investments announces intentions to invest £4 million in an existing exploratory fracking well in the Weald Basin, Southern England. [22]


June

  • 1: The Scottish Parliament votes in favour of a ban on fracking.[23]
  • 6: Northern Ireland legislates in favour of mandatory planning applications for any unconventional oil and gas exploration.[24]


July

  • 7: A report laid before parliament by the Committee on Climate Change calls for stronger regulations on shale gas development in order for the UK to not exceed its carbon budget.[26]
  • 8: The planning committee of Bassetlaw, north Nottinghamshire, reject an application by Dart (East England) Ltd, an IGas subsidiary company, for the development of a shale gas exploration well at Tinker Lane. [27]
  • 13: Surrey County Council backs plans by IGas to convert a shale gas exploration site near Guildford to gas production.[28]


August

  • 7: The Prime Minister proposes a shale wealth fund be made available to make direct payments to people affected by fracking.[31]

Notes

  1. Ruth Hayhurst, INEOS interview: Company spotlight turns to English shale gas areas, Drill or Drop, 8 January 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  2. Damien Gayle, Anti-fracking protesters evicted from Cheshire camp, The Guardian, 12 January 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  3. Kevin Hollinrake, All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Unconventional Oil and Gas, Kevin Hollinrake, 18 January 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  4. Misson borehole drilling plan given the green light, Retford Times, 19 January 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  5. Christopher Hope, Ministers plot to foil anti-frackers, The Telegraph, 30 January 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  6. 'No commercial drilling' at Upton anti-fracking protest site, IGas says, BBC News, 5 February 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  7. David Holmes, 'Outraged' Cheshire police boss aims to recover £200K costs from energy firm, The Chester Chronicle, 8 February 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  8. Frances Perraudin, Lancashire council's fracking refusal was 'democracy in action', The Guardian, 9 February 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  9. Cuadrilla wins Lancashire monitoring site appeal, BBC News, 23 February 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  10. Ryedale District Council votes to oppose fracking at site in Kirby Misperton, ITV News, 15 March 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  11. [1], The Blackpool Gazette, 17 March 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  12. Appeals Casework Portal Reference: APP/L6940/A/16/3145869 GOV.uk, accessed 14 September 2016
  13. Energy firm IGas will not pay for Upton anti-fracking camp police operation, The Chester Standard, 24 March 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  14. Minister extends moratorium to underground coal gasification, GOV.wales, 25 March 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  15. Ruth Hayhurst, IGas gets go-ahead for 15 years of gas and oil production at Bletchingley, Surrey, Drill or Drop, 30 March 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  16. Guidance on fracking: developing shale oil and gas in the UK, GOV.uk, accessed 14 September 2016
  17. Government should accept recommendation on fifth carbon budget, Parliament.uk, 27 April 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  18. Adam Vaughan, UK support for fracking hits new low, The Guardian, 28 April 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  19. Greg Russell, Ineos claims media's 'scare stories' over fracking are distorting public's perceptions of the issue, The National, 5 May 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  20. Damian Carrington, Fracking investors losing patience with planning delays, says industry boss, The Guardian, 19 May 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  21. Landmark North Yorkshire fracking operation approved, BBC News, 23 May 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  22. UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC ("UKOG" or the "Company") Placing for Further Funding for Weald Basin Activities, accessed on 14 September 2016
  23. MSPs vote in favour of a fracking ban as SNP abstain, BBC News, 1 June 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  24. Woodburn oil well: Infrastructure minister 'to change planning process', BBC News, 6 June 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  25. UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC ("UKOG" or the "Company") Acquisition of 100% interest in 300 sq km Licence in Weald Kimmeridge Limestone Oil Province , London Stock Exchange, 13 June 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  26. Exploitation of onshore petroleum requires three key tests to be met, CCC says, Committee on Climate Change, 7 July 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  27. Bassetlaw Planners Make Seismic Decision, Frack Free Tinker Lane, July 8 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  28. Surrey County Council Agenda and minutes, GOV.uk, 13 July 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  29. Ian Johnston, Climate change department closed by Theresa May in 'plain stupid' and 'deeply worrying' move, The Independent, 14 July 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  30. HU11 4LP, Rathlin Energy UK Limited: environmental permit issued, GOV.uk, 2 August 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  31. Daniel Boffey, Local people to get cash payments from fracking, The Guardian, 7 August 2016, 14 September 2016