Yorkshire Post Article: Fracking giant targets Yorkshire village
INEOS, the multinational chemicals giant controlled by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, has lodged plans to drill for shale gas in South Yorkshire. The firm, whose boss has been nicknamed “JR” after the oil magnate in the TV series, Dallas, wants to carry out “exploration drilling” for up to five months, around Harthill, near Rotherham.
It has submitted an “environmental screening” report to Rotherham Council, and plans to follow it with a formal planning application for a vertical well to extract samples of rock for laboratory analysis.
It is the second exploration well the firm has proposed in the region, following a similar application near the village of Marsh Lane, south of Sheffield.
The process of extracting shale gas by drilling down into the earth - fracking - is hugely controversial. Environmental campaigners say it has led to earthquakes and contamination of the water table.
Harthill parish council refused a request by Ineos last October to carry out seismic testing on a public open space in the village.
Its vice chair, Coun Joy Pattison, said today: “To go from seismic testing to a planning application for a test drilling rig is a very big leap.”
Some villagers had said were planning to form a “Harthill against fracking” group, she added.
Two years ago, Ineos announced plans to invest £640m in shale gas exploration.
Mr Ratcliffe said at the time that he wanted the company to become the biggest player in the British shale gas industry.
He said: “I believe shale gas could revolutionise UK manufacturing and I know Ineos has the resources to make it happen, the skills to extract the gas safely and the vision to realise that everyone must share in the rewards.”
But the campaign group Greenpeace said at the time: “It seems that Ineos have based their business plan on breathless PR brochures rather than scientific reports.” Ineos said today it planned to spend three months assembling a drilling rig at Harthill, followed by up to five months of drilling, including a “pressure test” to establish the site’s suitability for shale gas extraction.
The company said it was “seeking to establish a community liaison group with elected members and local residents”.
It added in a statement: “Ineos is and looks forward to working alongside the local community to ensure that the important issues have been discussed, considered and are understood prior to the planning application being submitted.”
However, Coun Pattison said the details of the drilling application were not known in the village until last Sunday.
Some 15 months ago, the government’s Oil and Gas Authority awarded Ineos 21 exploration licences, giving them rights to look for shale oil and gas, but not to drill - which would require separate planning permission from local authorities.
Yorkshire, the north east and north west of England are the regions most in the spotlight, and areas opened up for exploration include land around Chesterfield, Sheffield, Barnsley and York. Blocks of land adjacent to the North York Moors, Lake District and Peak District national parks are also open for exploration.
Last May, councillors in North Yorkshire sparked a huge wave of protest when they approved the UK’s first fracking project in five years, in the Ryedale village of Kirby Misperton, for another exploration company, Third Energy.
