Fracking firm Cuadrilla has announced the completion of the UK’s second shale horizontal well at its Lancashire site.
The company said that drilling at the exploration site at Preston New Road was to a depth of 2,100m below the surface and extends laterally for some 750 metres through the shale gas reservoir.
The first well drilled in April by the firm went to a depth of 2,700 meters and latterly for another 800 meters through the shale gas reservoir.
Cuadrilla say they will now start to dismantle the drilling rig to prepare the site for the “hydraulic fracturing phase”, with much of the required equipment already on site.
The company aims to be fracking later in the year once it receives UK Government consent.
Francis Egan, CEO of Cuadrilla, said: “We are very pleased to have successfully completed drilling the UK’s first two horizontal shale gas wells, as we continue to lead the way on UK shale exploration. Subject to hydraulic fracturing consent being granted by the Government we plan to fracture the shale rock around these wells over the coming months and test the flow rates of natural gas from the shale.
“Our objective is to demonstrate that natural gas will flow from the shale in commercially viable quantities. In the process we look forward to demonstrating that the UK’s huge shale gas resources can be safely produced and make a major contribution to improving the UK’s energy security, whilst reducing our gas import needs and providing economic and environmental benefit.”
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