In an attempt to move away from dirty coal fired power stations, China is in the midst of a huge fracking boom. In spite of difficult terrain, including mountainous, arid, remote and also highly populated regions, Chinese firms can now drill multiple wells at a single pad (‘well-factory’ drilling) and can carry out extended horizontal fracturing up to 3,000 meters. Reuters

Although still far from the extent found in the USA, a recent survey by oil and gas consultants Wood Mackenzie  reports Chinese energy giants are making significant progress unlocking natural gas from shale rock formations, creating a shale revolution with output scheduled to double by 2020.

Poster in Beijing showing the polluted groundwater (Jason Lee – Reuters)

However, as with all other areas in the world where fracking has taken a hold, things are not going to plan and there are now serious concerns about groundwater pollution. The Financial Times recently reported that in the township of Xiaohaotu in central China, the water is “beyond repair” and residents are engaged in a campaign of protest and have support from people across the country.

Aurora Energy Resources, the company who want to frack in Great Altcar near to Formby, held a poorly advertised public consultation exercise in Haskayne Village Hall earlier this month.

Please click here for the full report on the Public Meeting.

Aurora Energy Resources, the company that wants to frack for shale gas at Great Altcar, just a mile from our Formby Tesco, is holding a second public information evening between 4pm and 7.30pm on Friday the 2^nd of November, at Haskayne Village Hall, 109 School Lane, Downholland L39 7JE.

Frack Free Formby strongly urge Formby residents and those who may be affected by Aurora’s planning application, to attend this event to familiarise themselves with what this company are planning and to voice their concerns.

 Why is this consultation so important?

The potential planning application threatens all of north Sefton and south west Lancashire. To be a commercial success and maximise shale gas recovery, energy companies will need to build more well pads and drill many more wells. This might include drilling under the whole of Formby and our nature reserve. We will lose farmland on a massive scale. This will potentially result in large loss of wildlife. There are many concerns over the effects of fracking including effects on health, possible contamination of the water table and earthquakes.

In 2011 the fracking company, Cuadrilla, caused two earthquakes in Blackpool and were then forced to stop drilling. There were no earthquakes again until they recommenced fracking at the same site at Preston New Road less than two weeks ago. Since then, there have been multiple minor quakes in that area on a daily basis. All this is set against the backdrop of global warming and warnings by the UN that we need urgent and unprecedented changes to keep the temperature of our planet under control. One of the major changes is reducing our CO2 emissions and therefore reducing dramatically our burning of fossil fuels……coal, oil and gas.

The meeting at Haskayne is the opportunity to have your say about what Aurora are planning and how it will affect us all in our local area, now and for future generations.

Fracking has started in Lancashire. And the government wants to drastically rewrite planning rules that would make it easier for fracking companies to start drilling in search of climate-wrecking fossil fuels across the country.

A huge body of scientific evidence together with almost daily occurrence of extreme global weather informs us that climate change is happening right now. We do not need further fossil fuel extraction for the profit for a few.

Local people and councils will be side-lined. The summer’s heatwaves, droughts and wildfires are the alarm bells of the climate emergency but the government and the fracking industry have failed to listen.

Please sign the Friends of the Earth petition to tell the government it can’t get away with trampling on local democracy and our climate. Urge the government to ensure local councils retain their right to make planning decisions on fracking, and to not allow fracking companies to drill without planning permission.

Monday 15th October 2018 marks the day when fracking returned to the UK for the first time since 2011. Amid protests and blockades, the oil and gas exploration company Cuadrilla, commenced fracking at the test drill site at Preston New Road near to Blackpool.

“The company will first frack the deeper of the two wells drilled at Preston New Road (PNR). The well is at about 2,300m below the surface and the horizontal section runs for about 800m. Cuadrilla will frack 45 stages of the first well, one each day, starting with the one furthest from the pad. Stages are each 15-50m long and each will use up to 765m3 (765,000 litres) of hydraulic fracturing fluid and up to 75 tonnes (75,000 kg) of sand proppant.” (Drill or Drop).

The planning application from Aurora Energy Resources to commence drilling at Great Altcar is expected anytime soon bringing fears of further industrialisation of the countryside, pollution risks, increased traffic, seismic events and extraction of unnecessary fossil fuel.

The scandal of the return of fracking to the UK is that the government as been allowed to force it through in spite of democratic local opposition and at any cost. In addition, the commencement of shale gas extraction comes just days after the Independent Panel on Climate Change reported the urgency to curtail global warming and that fossil fuel use must be cut dramatically. to limit temperature rises to 1.5C.