Timeline: shale gas in the UK

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2011

2012

2013

2014

October

2015

January

  • 21: Lancashire County Council (LCC) planners recommend refusal of Cuadrilla's fracking application.[1]
  • 26: George Osborne requests cabinet ministers intervene in local planning to fast track fracking as a “personal priority”. [3]
  • 26: MPs vote against amendments to the Infrastructure Bill proposing tougher regulations and a moratorium on fracking, but agree on Labour proposals for 13 new conditions to be met before shale gas extraction can take place.[4]
  • 28: LCC defers decision on Cuadrilla fracking application.[5]
  • 28: The Scottish government announces a moratorium on fracking planning permissions. The announcement was met with celebration by anti-fracking campaigners. [6]

February

  • 6: Cuadrilla receives permits for fracking at Roseacre Wood from the Environment Agency, ignoring the recommendation against approval by Lancashire County Council (LCC) planning committee. [7]
  • 9: House of Lords revises amendment to the Infrastructure Bill to remove Labour's proposed pre-conditions on fracking exploration. [8]. The revised amendment then passed in parliament on 12 February. [9]
  • 25: LCC’s development control committee refuse permission to Cuadrilla for shale gas testing at Singleton in the Fylde.[10]

March

  • 5: INEOS buys IGas' north-west shale gas assets, and becomes third UK’s third biggest shale gas licence holder. [11]
  • 17: Neath Port Talbot council permit UK Methane Ltd to drill an exploratory borehole for coal bed methane and shale gas at the Afan Valley beauty spot, the first such application to be approved in Wales. [13]
  • 18: Dart Energy challenge plans for a public inquiry into its fracking application at Dudleston Heath, near Ellesmere. [14]
  • 26: The government calls upon local councils to not 'gold-plate' human rights law when evicting protest camps. [15]
  • 28: The government rejects the need for a moratorium on fracking to not exceed the UK’s carbon budget, disregarding the advice of the Environmental Audit Committee. [16]

April

  • 23: Over a quarter of general election candidates sign frack-free pledge. [17]

May

  • 5: Cuadrilla drills in Lancashire are found to be in breach of planning conditions.[19]
  • 8: IGas chief executive Andrew Austin resigns following the official completion of the company's landmark acquisition of Dart Energy, announced in late 2014.[20]
  • 11: Following the Conservative Party’s general election victory on 8 May, prime minister David Cameron appoints Amber Rudd as energy and climate change secretary, Liz Truss as secretary for environment, food and rural affairs and Greg Clark as communities and local government secretary. [21]
  • 22: Third Energy submit application to frack near Kirby Misperton in Ryedale, North Yorkshire.[22]

June

  • 4: East Yorkshire council approves Rathlin Energy’s application for two exploratory wells at West Newton. [23]
  • 8:One of the UK's largest trade unions, the GMB, comes out in support of fracking. [24]
  • 11: The government announces plans to standardise the environmental requirements fracking companies must meet to explore for shale gas. The move is met with hostility by anti-fracking campaigners, who say the proposals will lessen the importance of local advisers and relax environmental scrutiny in the early stages of shale gas developments. [25]
  • 25: In a breakthrough decision, Lancashire County Council (LCC) rejects Cuadrilla's fracking application at Roseacre Wood. [26]
  • 29: LCC rejects Cuadrilla planning application to explore for shale gas at Preston New Road. [27]

July

  • 1: After much delay, the government releases the full report on the impact of fracking on rural economies. [28] The government previously resisted releasing the report saying it was incomplete and against the public interest, but was forced to publish it after an appeal to the Information Commissioner. The report warns of significant risks to human health, house prices, tourism and farming. [29]
  • 23: The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal, an international opinion tribunal founded in Bologna, grant trial hearing on how fracking breaches human rights. [30]

August

  • 8: Europa wins an appeal against Surrey County Council to carry out exploratory drilling in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty near Leith Hill. [31]
  • 13: In a significant policy intervention, the government announces new “fast-track” measures to remove the decision making power of local authorities on fracking planning applications. [32]
  • 18: The government releases details mapping where new licences to explore for oil and gas have been awarded across England, 59 of which fall in wildlife protection sites. [33]
  • 19: The government reveals proposals that drilling of seismic monitoring boreholes be exempt from application for planning permission. [34]

September

  • 16: The Task Force on Shale Gas advocates fracking as an alternative to coal while the UK transitions to renewables, but green campaigners insist pursuing fracking will increase the UK's net fossil fuel use. [35]
  • 16: The local government secretary Greg Clark announces plans for government to commandeer decision-making power on shale gas appeals from “underperforming” local councils. [36]
  • 16: The RSPB warns nearly 300 protected wildlife areas will be harmed across England from new fracking licences. [37]
  • 28: Northern Ireland’s environment minister Mark H Durkan disavows fracking, but does not impose a moratorium or permanent ban. [38]

October

  • 9: Ryedale District Council vote for a 5 year moratorium on fracking, although the final determination of ongoing fracking applications will be made by North Yorkshire County Council. [39]
  • 22: A High Court judge granted a judicial review of the decision by Lancashire County Council to approve Cuadrilla’s seismic monitoring scheme at Roseacre Wood. [40]

November

  • 4: The government introduces a fracking planning licence condition which bans any exploration in protected wildlife areas or designated landscapes. [41]
  • 17: At least 16 business leaders included in a letter co-ordinated by the North West Energy Task Force urging Lancashire County Council (LCC) to approve Cuadrilla’s planning applications insist their signatures were used without consent and demand they be removed. [42]
  • 25: The government cancels a £1 billion competition for carbon capture and storage technology, days ahead of a UN climate summit in Paris, thereby breaking a Conservative manifesto pledge. [43] On 15 December, the Task Force on Shale Gas criticised the move for damaging the long term viability of shale gas production. [44]
  • 26: In a controversial move, the task of determining Cuadrilla’s appeals against the refusal of planning permission for fracking at two sites in Lancashire is passed to secretary of state for communities and local government Greg Clark. The move is hotly contested by LCC. [45]

December

  • 16: In a controversial vote, MPs approve the government’s Draft Onshore Hydraulic Fracturing (Protected Areas) Regulations, allowing fracking under national parks. [46]

2016

January

  • 4: Lancashire County Council (LCC) request that the government reverse their decision to make Greg Clark have the final say in determining planning applications on fracking. On January 28, the government rejects this request. [48]
  • 8: Senior INEOS executive, Tom Pickering says his company is focusing efforts in shale gas exploration away from Scotland, towards Cheshire and other areas of England. [49]
  • 12: Bailiffs evict an anti-fracking protest camp at the IGas Duttons Lane site near Chester. More than 175 officers from four police forces were involved, and nine arrests.[50]
  • 19: Nottinghamshire County Council approves IGas’s application for up to 12 groundwater monitoring boreholes at a proposed shale gas site to the north-east of Misson in Bassetlaw, despite 314 public objections against it. [52]
  • 31: A leaked government letter from July 2015, signed by energy secretary Amber Rudd , local government secretary Greg Clark, and environment secretary Liz Truss, 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. Campaigners say the letter shows the government conspiring with fracking companies to take power away from local councils and communities. [53]

February

  • 9: High-profile inquiry begins on the planning appeals by Cuadrilla against Lancashire County Council (LCC)’s refusal of its applications to drill up to eight fracking wells, and seismic monitoring plans, across sites at Preston New Road and Roseacre Wood.[57]
  • 23: The Planning Inspectorate grants permission to Cuadrilla for site restoration and monitoring at the Grange Hill exploration site near Singleton in Lancashire, despite LCC refusing permission in May 2015.[58]

March

  • 15: Ryedale District Council votes against Third Energy fracking near the village of Kirby Misperton, and recommends North Yorkshire County Council opposes fracking at the existing KM8 well.[59]
  • 16: Closing day of the public inquiry into Cuadrilla's appeal against Lancashire County Council to drill up to eight fracking wells and seismic monitoring plans, across sites at Preston New Road and Roseacre Wood. [60]
  • 23: Coastal Oil and Gas appeals its refused application for an exploratory test well at Hendre Farm, Llanharan.[61]
  • 26: Welsh natural resources minister Carl Sargeant extends Wales' moratorium on unconventional gas and oil developments to underground coal gasification. [62]
  • 30: Surrey Council approves extending IGas oil and gas production sites near Bletchingley Central. [63]

April

  • 6: Regulations on fracking well depths come into force. [64]
  • 11: Third Energy is granted environmental permit for the KM8 shale gas well at Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire. [65]
  • 28: Public support for fracking in the UK falls to an all-time low according to a government poll. Most notably, just 19 per cent of people backed fracking while support for renewables surged to 81 per cent in the Department of Energy and Climate Change's long running public attitude tracker poll.[67]

May

  • 5: INEOS sets out summer timetable for seismic surveying and monitoring across England.[68]
  • 23: In a landmark decision, North Yorkshire County Council approve Third Energy's application to explore for shale at Kirby Misperton in Ryedale, despite overwhelming local opposition.[70]

June

  • 1: The Scottish Parliament votes for a ban on fracking.[72]
  • 6: Northern Ireland legislates for mandatory planning applications for unconventional oil and gas exploration sites.[73]

July

  • 8: IGas's application for an exploration well at Tinker Lane in Bassetlaw, north Nottinghamshire, is rejected by local planning committee. [76]
  • 13: Surrey County Council approves IGas plans to convert a shale gas exploration site near Guildford to gas production.[77]
  • 14: Following the UK’s referendum vote to leave the EU on 24 June, the resignation of David Cameron, and Theresa May’s victory in a Conservative Party leadership contest and subsequent assumption as the new prime minister on 13 July, Andrea Leadsom is appointed environment secretary, Sajid Javid becomes communities and local government secretary, and Greg Clark is appointed secretary for business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS). [78] In a widely condemned move, Theresa May abolishes the department of energy and climate change. The previous brief of the department for energy and climate change integrates into BEIS. [79]
  • 19: Director of INEOS Tom Crotty announces plans to apply for over 30 fracking planning applications within the next 6 months, with the expectation of extracting gas in about 18 months. [80]

August

  • 2: Rathlin Energy receive environmental permit to frack at West Newton, East Yorkshire.[81]
  • 7: New UK prime minister Theresa May proposes compensating people affected by fracking with cash payments. Green campaigners accuse the PM of attempting to bribe individual residents to pass fracking applications. [82]

September

  • 6: In a House of Lords hearing, minister of state at the department for business, energy and industrial strategy Baroness Neville-Rolfe refuses to disclose what level of carbon emissions from fracking wells is considered acceptable by the government. [83]
  • 14: South Western Energy announces it will not pursue four of the its awarded licences to explore for shale gas in the Forest of Dean and Wiltshire. [86]

Notes

  1. Cuadrilla Lancashire fracking application 'should be refused', BBC News, 21 January 2015, accessed 15 September 2016
  2. Environmental Audit Committee calls for halt to fracking, Parliament.uk, 26 January 2015, accessed 15 September 2016
  3. Damian Carrington, [George Osborne urges ministers to fast-track fracking measures in leaked letter], The Guardian, 26 January 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  4. Fracking moratorium rejected by MPs, BBC News, 26 January 2015, accessed 15 September 2016
  5. Damian Carrington, Lancashire council defers Cuadrilla fracking decision, The Guardian, 28 January 2015, accessed 15 September 2016
  6. Libby Brooks, Scotland announces moratorium on fracking for shale gas, The Guardian, 28 January 2015, accessed 15 September 2016
  7. Cuadrilla News Environment Agency Grants Cuadrilla’s Environmental Permits For Roseacre Wood, Cuadrilla Resources, 6 February 2015, accessed 15 September 2016
  8. The Infrastructure Bill returned to the House of Lords on Monday 9 February for consideration of Commons' changes, Parliament.uk, 10 February 2015, accessed 15 September 2016
  9. Damian Carrington, Fracking will be allowed under national parks, UK decides, The Guardian, 12 February 2015, accessed 15 September 2016
  10. Cuadrilla: Fracking firm seismic monitor plan refused, BBC News, 25 February 2015, accessed 15 September 2016
  11. [http://www.ineos.com/news/ineos-group/ineos-to-acquire-significant-share-of-key-igas-north-west-shale-gas-assets INEOS to acquire significant share of key IGas North-West shale gas assets}, INEOS website, 10 March 2015, accessed 16 September 2016
  12. Celtique Energie drops two West Sussex drilling bids, BBC News, 12 March 2015, accessed 16 September 2016
  13. Drilling of borehole at Afan Valley beauty spot approved, BBC News, 17 March 2015, accessed 16 September 2016
  14. Gas drilling bosses oppose Shropshire public inquiry, Shropshire Star, 18 March 2015, accessed 16 September 2016
  15. [https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/418040/150326_Joint_Letter_Brandon_Lewis_MP_and_Rt_Hon_Mike_Penning_MP_-_Final.pdf Department for Communities and Local Government Uploads), GOV.uk, 26 March 2015, accessed 16 September 2016
  16. Government Response To The Environmental Audit Committee’s Inquiry Into Environmental Risks Of Fracking, Parliament.uk, 26 March 2015, accessed 16 September 2016
  17. Over 1,000 election candidates sign 'Frack Free Promise', businessGreen, 23 April 2015, accessed 16 September 2016
  18. Update - Horse Hill, UK Weald Basin, UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC Statement, 28 April 2015, accessed 16 September 2016
  19. Ruth Hayhurst, Investigation finds multiple planning breaches and technical problems at Cuadrilla’s drilling sites, Drill or Drop, 5 May 2015, accessed 16 September 2016
  20. Niamh Burns, IGas chief exec steps down, Energy Voice, 8 May 2015, accessed 16 September 2016
  21. Jessica Elgot, Rowena Mason and Andrew Sparrow, David Cameron's new cabinet lineup, The Guardian, 11 May 2015, accessed on 20 September 2016
  22. North Yorkshire fracking plans submitted to council, BBC News, 22 May 2015, accessed 16 September 2016
  23. Plans for third East Yorkshire oil and gas drill site approved, BBC News, 4 June 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  24. Archive | GMB Congress On Onshore Fracking, GMB website, 8 June 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  25. Tom Bawden, Government trying to fast-track fracking without public consent, Independent, 11 June 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  26. Roseacre Wood fracking bid rejected by Lancashire councillors, BBC News, 25 June 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  27. Adam Vaughan, Fracking application rejected by Lancashire county council, The Guardian, 29 June 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  28. Draft Shale Gas Rural Economy Impacts paper, GOV.uk, 1 July 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  29. Tony Bosworth, Defra fracking report – the truths the Government tried to hide, Friends of the Earth, 3 July 2015, accessed 20 September 2016
  30. Dr Damien Short and Dr Tom Kerns, Permanent Peoples' Tribunal puts fracking on trial, Ecologist, 23 July 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  31. Energy firm wins Surrey Hills oil drilling battle, BBC News, 8 August 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  32. Faster decision making on shale gas for economic growth and energy security, GOV.uk, 13 August 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  33. Emily Gosden, Fracking in the UK: could it happen near you?, The Telegraph, 18 August 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  34. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/452665/150810_Boreholes_PDRs_Govt_response_-_invitation_for_views.pdf Amendment to permitted development rights for drilling boreholes for groundwater monitoring for petroleum exploration], GOV.uk, 1 August 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  35. Fiona Harvey, Shale gas fracking should go ahead in UK, says taskforce, The Guardian, 16 September, accessed 19 September 2016
  36. Planning for Onshore Oil and Gas:Written statement - HCWS201, Parliament.uk, 16 September 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  37. Almost 300 of England’s most important wildlife sites at risk from fracking, RSPB website, 16 September 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  38. Mark H Durkan publishes planning blueprint for Northern Ireland, BBC News, 28 September 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  39. Ryedale District Council votes on five-year fracking ban, BBC News, 9 October 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  40. Group wins right to challenge Lancashire fracking monitoring plan, BBC News, 24 October 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  41. Surface Development Restrictions for Hydraulic Fracturing, GOV.uk, 4 November 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  42. Lancashire fracking backers ‘against it really’, Lancashire Telegraph, 18 November 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  43. Damian Carrington, [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/25/uk-cancels-pioneering-1bn-carbon-capture-and-storage-competition UK cancels pioneering £1bn carbon capture and storage competition, The Guardian, 25 November 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  44. Damian Carrington, UK is going into reverse on clean energy, says former Environment Agency head, The Guardian, 15 December 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  45. Matthew Weaver, Minister says he will have final say on Lancashire fracking plan, The Guardian, 27 November 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  46. Frances Perraudin, Fracking under national parks approved by MPs amid acrimony, The Guardian, 16 December 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  47. New licences for UK shale gas exploration, BBC News, 17 December 2015, accessed 19 September 2016
  48. Andy Rowell, Fracking hypocrites: the Tories' 'localism' promises won't apply to Lancashire, Spinwatch, 18 May 2016, accessed 21 September 2016.
  49. Ruth Hayhurst, INEOS interview: Company spotlight turns to English shale gas areas, Drill or Drop, 8 January 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  50. Damien Gayle, Anti-fracking protesters evicted from Cheshire camp, The Guardian, 12 January 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  51. Kevin Hollinrake, All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Unconventional Oil and Gas, Kevin Hollinrake's website, 18 January 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  52. Misson borehole drilling plan given the green light, Retford Times, 19 January 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  53. Christopher Hope, Ministers plot to foil anti-frackers, The Telegraph, 30 January 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  54. 'No commercial drilling' at Upton anti-fracking protest site, IGas says, BBC News, 5 February 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  55. David Holmes, 'Outraged' Cheshire police boss aims to recover £200K costs from energy firm, The Chester Chronicle, 8 February 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  56. Energy firm IGas will not pay for Upton anti-fracking camp police operation, The Chester Standard, 24 March 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  57. Frances Perraudin, Lancashire council's fracking refusal was 'democracy in action', The Guardian, 9 February 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  58. Cuadrilla wins Lancashire monitoring site appeal, BBC News, 23 February 2016, accessed 13 September 2016
  59. Ryedale District Council votes to oppose fracking at site in Kirby Misperton, ITV News, 15 March 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  60. [1], The Blackpool Gazette, 17 March 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  61. Appeals Casework Portal Reference: APP/L6940/A/16/3145869 GOV.uk, accessed 14 September 2016
  62. Minister extends moratorium to underground coal gasification, GOV.wales, 25 March 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  63. 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
  64. Guidance on fracking: developing shale oil and gas in the UK, GOV.uk, accessed 14 September 2016
  65. Third Energy is granted fracking permits for a site in North Yorkshire, GOV.uk, 11 April 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  66. Government should accept recommendation on fifth carbon budget, Parliament.uk, 27 April 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  67. Adam Vaughan, UK support for fracking hits new low, The Guardian, 28 April 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  68. 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
  69. Damian Carrington, Fracking investors losing patience with planning delays, says industry boss, The Guardian, 19 May 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  70. Landmark North Yorkshire fracking operation approved, BBC News, 23 May 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  71. UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC ("UKOG" or the "Company") Placing for Further Funding for Weald Basin Activities, accessed on 14 September 2016
  72. MSPs vote in favour of a fracking ban as SNP abstain, BBC News, 1 June 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  73. Woodburn oil well: Infrastructure minister 'to change planning process', BBC News, 6 June 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  74. 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
  75. Exploitation of onshore petroleum requires three key tests to be met, CCC says, Committee on Climate Change, 7 July 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  76. Bassetlaw planners make seismic decision, Frack Free Tinker Lane, July 8 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  77. Surrey County Council Agenda and minutes, GOV.uk, 13 July 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  78. Theresa May shakes up government with new-look cabinet, BBC News, 14 July 2016, accessed 21 September 2016
  79. 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
  80. Andy Rowell, Chemical giant Ineos plans 30 frack wells in UK within months, Spinwatch, 19 July 2016, accessed 21 September 2016
  81. HU11 4LP, Rathlin Energy UK Limited: environmental permit issued, GOV.uk, 2 August 2016, accessed 14 September 2016
  82. Daniel Boffey, Local people to get cash payments from fracking, The Guardian, 7 August 2016, 14 September 2016
  83. Climate Change: Fracking Volume 774, Parliament.uk, 06 September 2016, accessed 20 September 2016
  84. Transcript Of APPG On Shale Gas Regulation & Planning Wednesday 7th September 2016, APPGShalegas.uk, accessed 20 September 2016
  85. Ruth Hayhurst, Fylde doesn’t look promising for fracking – veteran US geologist, Drill or Drop, 13 September 2016, accessed 20 September 2016
  86. Fracking licences in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 'will not be used', BBC News, 15 September 2016, accessed 20 September 2016