WorldWide Drilling Resource

A New ePortal Initiative to be Used at a Horizontal Drilling Site Adapted from Information by Cuadrilla Resources Ltd Cuadrilla Resources Ltd has identified two locations which are to be developed as temporary exploration sites by drilling and testing the flow of natural gas from up to four horizontal wells at each site. One of the proposed sites is located just off Preston New Road, Lancashire, United Kingdom, while the other is at Roseacre Wood, Lancashire. To help the company determine how much natural gas could be commercially extracted from the shale, drilling will go to a depth of over a mile beneath the Preston New Road site, which will allow testing of the flow rates to be conducted on the large quantities of natural gas locked up in the shale. Preparation of the surface site included creating a new site entrance, access road, and well pad. The topsoil on the well pad needed to be cleared so a protective membrane could be installed to create an impermeable barrier underneath the site. Cuadrilla has launched an online ePortal to allow members of the public to view the status of environmental monitoring of the Preston New Road site. The design of the portal has taken into account environmental priorities set out by local people during the public consultation, which was undertaken for the site’s planning application. Francis Egan, CEO of Cuadrilla said, “After listening to local people’s views, we are pleased to provide an easy-to-use online ePortal. This will allow the public access to the environ- mental monitoring data that we are gathering to assure the local community that our operations at Preston New Road are being conducted in an environmentally responsible manner. We are the first onshore oil and gas operator in the UK to launch an initiative such as this.” The ePortal allows users to look at data collected at a vari- ety of monitoring stations around the site, which were put in place to monitor surface and groundwater, as well as air quality measurements. Information on the traffic flows of heavy goods vehicles to and from the exploration site is also provided, along with noise monitoring data which was added on the ePortal once Cuadrilla started drilling on the site. Information on the ePortal will be updated on a monthly basis. In addition, Cuadrilla has set up a dedicated viewing area near the Preston New Road site, which gives interested members of the public the oppor- tunity to observe the site from a safe location as work pro- gresses. The Preston New Road site . DIR 22 AUGUST 2018 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®