Fracking up date

Keeping up to date with fracking:

• The Settrington estate have been approached and refused to allow to carry out seismic testing for shale gas on this estate
• Refusing access does not protect land owners from companies fracking on their land, as the Section 43 of the Infrastructure Act 2015 provides that there is now a right to drill for oil or gas at a depth of at least 300m below the surface. This effectively removes the need to gain consent from the landowner to access land at a depth below 300 metres. The requirement to acquire the consent of the landowner to access land at the surface and down to a depth of 300 metres remains and the landowner would require due compensation.

Local news is not good;  Jim Ratcliffe, Britain's richest billionaire has declared war on his own Northern county.  Head of Ineos they/he plan 2000 fracking wells in North Yorks, it would rip the beautiful countryside apart, fortunately he will not have to see it because he lives in Switzerland, unless of course he has moved elsewhere.

It means another continuous battle, to quote just some of the words that are coming from the meeting at Castle Howard........

• For Fracking to be financially viable if this industry was to be allowed to happen;

It would require 2000 wells across North Yorkshire, each  4 wells would cover an area of  7 hectares  [ approx. 20 acres ]  in concrete and industrial type towers.

• Approximately 40.000 acres of this region will become industrialised
• The industry would generate 50,000 plus lorry trips to bring in chemicals and take away contaminated water, can our roads cope with this ?
• The negative  effect on agriculture and the tourist industry will  far out weigh any employment  benefits from fracking.
• The law as it stands states that a well must  be a mile from any place of  residence, however the industry is lobbying Government to change this law  to allow a well to be sunk just 500 METERS from residential dwelling.   

Remember the move towards renewable energy, well throw that out of the window, you cannot make enough money out of it to line the many bank balances that hover like mosquitos to suck the blood out of this country.

A Ratcliffe quote also is ominous, we only own  the surface ground of our properties, the rest belongs to our government, mining rights can be given out without the due process of law, though I am sure it will all be challenged in court.  What the various estates round here are worried about, is the fact of the long term issue of pollution and that they will be liable to pay out for this.

Jim Ratcliffe;  “However,” he adds. “In the UK you only own what’s on the surface and the government owns what’s below........


The last something from the FT in November of last year I think, again quoted by one of the people who attended the Castle Howard meet...

On an edge of the Yorkshire Wolds in northern England, Kenelm Storey gazes out over the rolling hills of his family’s Settrington estate. Its history weighs heavy on his shoulders but it is the long term future that concerns him now as he vows to stop fracking on the land. Ineos, the petrochemicals company and biggest owner of shale licences in Britain, has applied to carry out seismic testing for gas on the estate. This could lead to the company asking to carry out fracking, or hydraulic fracturing — the injection of water, sand and chemicals at high-pressure to open cracks in the rock to extract oil or natural gas.

Mr Storey, president of his local Thirsk and Malton Conservative association, told the Financial Times he was “desperately worried” about allowing fracking on his land because of the residual liability for any environmental damage that emerges in an abandoned shale gas well in the years after Ineos’ licence expires.

Ineos threatens National Trust with court action But he might not have a choice. Ineos, owned by the UK’s richest man Jim Ratcliffe, has argued it had a “legal obligation to investigate shale gas deposits in areas around the country”. For while individuals own land, underground natural resources belong to the Crown. Earlier this year Ineos said it would take the National Trust to the court over its refusal to grant access to land in Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire.

Mr Storey is concerned that by taking on this public body in such a high profile manner, the company was demonstrating its readiness to take legal action should landowners deny access. Ineos has said it will take the National Trust to court over its refusal to grant access to Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire .

Alamy Geological surveys have indicated the presence of significant untapped gas across the Midlands and north of England. The industry and ministers have argued that shale gas will open a crucial new domestic energy source. The UK’s first shale gas started to flow earlier this month, at Cuadrilla’s fracking operation in Lancashire. But its operations, and others’, have been long-delayed by environmental concerns and political opposition.

Fracking companies can also use the Mines Act 1966 to seek ancillary access rights to land. Operators would need to prove that land access is “expedient in the national interest” and that the landowner is “unreasonably refusing” to allow access. I think it’s important to note that this will affect anyone on whose land it happens, so the smaller the landholding, the more disproportionate and potentially ruinous it would be Nick Howard, owner of the Castle Howard estate.

Even if Mr Storey wins a legal battle he cannot stop horizontal fracking under his land — with the same risk of subsequent water pollution from an abandoned well — if a neighbour strikes a deal. “All landowners of all types and sizes would be well advised to resist the blandishments of those wanting to frack — not least as such resistance would strengthen their case for human rights’ infringement,” he said.

Ineos did not respond to requests for comment. But Ken Cronin, chief executive of UKOOG, the trade group for UK onshore oil and gas producers, tried to dispel landowners’ concerns. “If the geology is suitable and a landowner chooses to lease us their land for the purpose of an exploration site, as part of our licensing conditions — regulated by the Oil and Gas Authority — each operator has to ensure that they are adequately insured,” he said. “This needs to cover third party liabilities, loss of well control and environmental liabilities. From the commissioning of a well to its retirement, it is the responsibility of the operator.” Mr Storey remains unconvinced. “[UKOOG] still haven’t been able to assuage our perfectly reasonable concern about residual liability for any well on our land once the licence has expired and the well is no longer in use,” he said.

Should government be insurer of last resort? In March, he wrote to ministers inviting the government to stand as insurer of last resort. “If the government is so convinced that they have gold standard regulations and this is a safe process, then why is it the government is not standing in as the insurer of last resort in perpetuity?” The business department said the government had “always been clear it expects licence holders to cover any residual liabilities from sites”. Christopher Price, director of policy at CLA, which represents owners of rural property and businesses, said: “If fracking is to go ahead, between them government and the fracking industry need to find a way to make it complete. It is simply wrong that landowners should be expected to deal with the residual liability.”

Ministers are currently consulting on whether exploratory work such as seismic surveys and test drilling for fracking, should be treated as “permitted development” in England, removing the need for planning approval. Tory MPs consider rebelling Conservative MPs have told the Financial Times that “at least 20” party backbenchers are willing “to destroy the government’s majority” if the government seeks to push the proposal through parliament because they fear the move could cost votes.

INEOS also holds the licence under the Castle Howard estate, the well-known stately home in Yorkshire owned by Nick Howard. He has inquired about insurance products that cover residual liability. Recommended Nick Butler : The UK shale revolution that never was Lycetts, a rural insurance broker, told him: “Caution should be exercised into allowing fracking operations to take place until a government or industry backstop is in place. As matters presently stand, there is no safety net for landowners.” Ineos has made no formal proposals to Mr Howard but from an insurance perspective it seems to be “a non-starter”, Mr Howard said. “I think it’s important to note that this will affect anyone on whose land it happens, so the smaller the landholding, the more disproportionate and potentially ruinous it would be.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/20/judge-halts-drilling-climate-change-trump-administration