Application by Cuadrilla for an extension to consent for a extended well test

The request was successful.

Dear Oil and Gas Authority,

On 5 August 2019, the Oil & Gas Authority granted a one-year consent to Cuadrilla Bowland Ltd for an extended well test on its PNR2 well at Preston New Road in Lancashire. See confirmation in this FOI response on 14 October 2019 https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/f...
Please confirm whether Cuadrilla Bowland, or any other Cuadrilla company, has sought to extend this consent and, if so, for how long.

Yours faithfully,

Ruth Hayhurst

OGA FOI requests,

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Hayhurst,

Please find attached a response to your Freedom of Information request.

Yours sincerely,

FOI Officer.

Oil and Gas Authority is a limited company registered in England and Wales with registered number 09666504 and VAT registered number 249433979. Our registered office is at 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, United Kingdom, WC1B 3HF.

For information about how we process data and monitor communications please see our Privacy Statement and for terms of use please see our Terms and Conditions, both available on our website.

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Dear Oil and Gas Authority,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Oil and Gas Authority's handling of my FOI request 'Application by Cuadrilla for an extension to consent for a extended well test'.

I believe an internal review should be conducted for the reasons below. I have responded to the numbered points made by the OGA’s FOI officer in the refusal.

1. The OGA says it is “committed to being open and transparent”. Confirmation of whether Cuadrilla has sought to extend the consent would confirm that the OGA is meeting its commitment.

2. I argue that there are exceptional circumstances which mean there should have been prior agreement to publish information about the application. This is because of the extensive and ongoing public interest in the Preston New Road site:
• The site saw the largest number of objections to an onshore oil and gas planning application, including from all levels of local government.
• The site saw the first UK high volume hydraulic fractures since 2011.
• The site has the UK’s first horizontal shale gas wells.
• In August 2019, fracking the PNR2 well caused the most powerful UK onshore fracking-induced seismic event.
• Fracking-induced seismicity at the PNR site prompted the UK government to impose a moratorium on fracking in England.
• Cuadrilla no longer employs a press office and there is limited distribution of information about the site to the public

4. Confirming or denying this information would have no impact on the OGA’s commercial interests because the OGA has no commercial interests in the PNR2 well or the extended well test.

5. Cuadrilla is privately-owned. It is not stock market listed and does not have a share price so this could not be affected by disclosure of the requested information. Cuadrilla has no competitors in the area around and including Preston New Road. The company has an exclusive right, subject to permissions, to explore for hydrocarbons.

5/6. No other operators are currently drilling, testing or fracking for shale gas in the UK so I cannot see how Cuadrilla has competitors in this field. If it did, I cannot see how disclosure of the requested information would help them.

8. The OGA’s objective of having an effective system of regulation is best served by transparency and providing evidence to the public that it is working properly.

9. For the reasons given above, I cannot see how disclosure of whether Cuadrilla has applied to extend the time limit for an EWT would “impact negatively Cuadrilla’s commercial interests”. The OGA has provided no evidence that this disclosure would discourage other licensees/operators from making legitimate and lawful applications in future or to delay them.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a...

Yours faithfully,

Ruth Hayhurst

OGA FOI requests,

Dear Ms Hayhurst,

Further to your request, of 11 September, for an internal Review of case FOI-2020-0049.

This Internal Review is currently beIng considered.

If we are unable to provide you with a response within the next 20 working days, we will provide you with a further update.

Yours sincerely,

OGA FOI Manager.

Oil and Gas Authority is a limited company registered in England and Wales with registered number 09666504 and VAT registered number 249433979. Our registered office is at 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, United Kingdom, WC1B 3HF.

For information about how we process data and monitor communications please see our Privacy Statement and for terms of use please see our Terms and Conditions, both available on our website.

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Dear OGA FOI requests,

On 9 October 2020, you wrote that an internal review was underway. I am not aware of any update since then to my request. Please let me know when the internal review will be completed.
Yours sincerely,

Ruth Hayhurst

OGA FOI requests,

3 Attachments

Dear Ms Hayhurst,

Please find attached a response to your internal Review request, for case FOI-2020-0049 (and your follow up communication of 17 June 2021).

As previously noted the number of the Internal Review is IR3.

Yours sincerely,

OGA FOI Manager.

Oil and Gas Authority is a limited company registered in England and Wales with registered number 09666504 and VAT registered number 249433979. Our registered office is at 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, United Kingdom, WC1B 3HF.

For information about how we process data and monitor communications please see our Privacy Statement and for terms of use please see our Terms and Conditions, both available on our website.

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