Chemical giant to ‘consult residents’ over fracking plans:
CHEMICAL giant Ineos has said it’s ‘early days’ for its fracking plans in Runcorn and Widnes. Richard Longden, Ineos spokesman, said the company owns a licence for an area that includes the shale bed beneath Halton.
He said no hydraulic fracturing to extract gas could take place without completing geological studies, seismic studies to a depth of three-five kilometres, test wells, samples-taking and planning permissions.
Fracking involves using chemicals and water to release gas from deep underground and pumping it to the surface to be used as fuel.
Mr Longden said the Health And Safety Executive and the Royal Society Of Engineers have said the process can be done without harming the environment if performed with the ‘right technology and know-how’.
He said consultation will take place with the public during the exploration and planning phases.
Ineos Shale acquired its licence from iGas, which has been extracting coalbed gas from Runcorn via a drilling site in Penketh for several years.
Ineos Shale hosted a stall at the Royal Cheshire County Show in Knutsford on Tuesday-Wednesday, June 21-22, to discuss concerns with the public.
In a press release the firm said it believes a UK shale gas industry will help the North West to create jobs, generate taxes and support its existing manufacturing base including in Runcorn.
Controversy surrounds fracking due to the risk of ground and surface water contamination, the climate change impact of fossil fuels and seismic tremors.
Protests have taken place near Chester over planned fracking in the area and meetings have taken place with residents in Frodsham.
Fracking backers claim the process is safe and essential to achieving energy security for the UK.
Critics say the process contaminates water courses and contributes to climate change.
Fracking is banned under moratoriums in countries including Germany, France, Bulgaria and the Netherlands, but has been developed rapidly in Poland.
The British Geological Survey’s official position is that fracking risks ‘low magnitude earthquakes’ and ground and surface water contamination.
It said a ‘broad regulatory framework’ exists for dealing with the risk.
The Guardian reported in September that big companies including BP, Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil had been lobbying the EU to scrap environmental safety measures relating to fracking.
Discussing Ineos Shale’s licence and part of the process to seek out shale gas beneath Halton, Mr Longden said: “We would need to submit planning applications in order to drill test wells which allow us to test how much gas there is in the shale.
“There would be communications and consultations with the community all the way through that process.
“We would then apply for the for the planning applications to test the well and to extract gas through fracking and through the whole process we have said we will communicate our plans with communities not just as part of the planning applications but to explain to people why this technology is required.
“It’s very early days and we are starting to engage with communities around Cheshire who were at the Cheshire Show and we’ve held meetings with councillors in Frodsham.”
He added: “I wouldn’t want to speculate what the time scales might be but it’s some way out.”
Asked whether there could be any conflict between fracking activity and the existing heavy industry in the borough he said: “We don’t see any conflict at all.
“In fact the UK has some of the strictest regulations in the world around potential activity and those standards have a strict traffic light system that stop any activity taking place at extremely low seismic activity.”