How are we
regulated?

Cuadrilla operates within a strict regulatory framework, which governs all onshore and offshore hydrocarbon exploration.

A  report  commissioned  by  the  EU  Commission  and  published  on  8th  November  2011  concluded  that  the  exploration  for  natural  gas  in  shale  rock  is  currently  well  regulated  in  Europe  and  does  not  need  more  regulation.

Final Report on Unconventional Gas in Europe, EU Commission, 8th November 2011

Select Committee Review

Our operations are also deemed to be completely safe by the House of Commons Department of Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, following a wide-ranging inquiry into shale gas exploration and production.

The report focused heavily on Cuadrilla’s operations and found no evidence to suggest that health or environmental concerns would arise from shale gas exploration in the UK – provided that existing regulations are adhered to.

This extended to all aspects including water contamination and use of chemicals and represents the most through and wide ranging analysis of the industry in the UK to date – with evidence taken from all sides of the debate.

The Select Committee, the Government, the regulators themselves and recently the EU all believe that the regulatory framework and process is robust enough to control and monitor the shale gas industry in the UK.

The UK regulators are experienced in on-shore drilling operations due to the number of wells drilled over the last decade.

DECC

Before operations began, Cuadrilla applied to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) for a licence to explore in the Bowland Basin as part of the Department’s four-yearly Onshore Licensing Round.

Local planning

Local planning permission for the Bowland Shale project is granted by Lancashire County Council and comes with a number of project-specific requirements including ecology studies and transportation, lighting and noise surveys. The proposals are also subject to scrutiny from the Environment Agency (EA), who must confirm that environmental risk have been minimised.

EA & HSE

Both the Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) work closely with Cuadrilla to ensure our operations are safe. With all of our wells, an independent well examiner assessed Cuadrilla’s design before submitting this for review to the HSE.

Regular checks

During operations, Cuadrilla is subject to visits from the EA and HSE both on an announced and unannounced basis. During March 2011 – August 2011, the EA visited the Preese Hall site 10 times, with seven of these being unannounced.

Cuadrilla is obliged to send the HSE a weekly report of its operations.