Drilling operations in Lancashire were suspended in May 2012 following environmental concerns and two small earth tremors.
In practice, it will be mid-2013 before any new exploration work has all the necessary consents to proceed and commercial production from shale gas wells is unlikely to take place before 2015.
The NFU recognises that unconventional fossil fuel reserves like shale gas may contribute to the diversity of UK energy sources in the future, but farmers and landowners hosting fracking wells are likely to be compensated only for access to their land, and not for any fossil energy resources extracted, which like certain mineral rights belong to the Crown.
The NFU northwest regional office has been particularly active in enabling contact between members and Cuadrilla, the company that has been prospecting in the Ribble Valley, Fylde peninsula and West Lancashire.
Agricultural concerns include the fate of wastewater from the fracking process, which must not be allowed to contaminate land or groundwater and impact on the high value horticultural crops grown in this area.
We’ve compiled some information for members which can be accessed by clicking on related documents at the top of the page, including a briefing on fracking and a summary of the recommendations which have been made to guard against future fracking induced earth tremors.
- See also - Fracking: NFU briefing