A fossil fuels firm has unveiled a proposal to build a drilling rig and explore for gas using a “low volume fracking technique” close to highly protected coast and national park landscapes.
Europa Oil and Gas has lodged planning documents with North Yorkshire Council over its ambition to drill a lateral borehole from a site of best and most versatile agricultural land off the A165 Coastal Road, near Burniston, towards Scalby, “for the purposes of conventional gas exploration”.
The papers state the rig would feature a 30m-high derrick, and that the construction, drilling and completion phases would take about 14 weeks, generating 1,050 HGV movements at the site.
In order to determine the potential reserves of gas, the firm states it would be necessary to undertake “a proppant squeeze” for up to 17 weeks.
While the technique to keep fissures open is regarded as small-scale hydraulic fracturing, as the UK takes the use of large volumes of fluid as its definition of fracking, proppant squeeze is not included in the government ban on the controversial gas extraction method.
The firm says it does not believe an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the proposal is necessary.
The proposed site is about 800m from the North York Moors National Park and within the North Yorkshire and Cleveland Heritage Coast Management Area.
The planning documents state “the site is likely to be sensitive to development” owing to its special landscape qualities, being near the coast and the Cleveland Way and the Scalby Character Area where there are views across the rolling landscape, across the North Sea and along the coastline.
Nevertheless, the papers add:
"It is Europa’s opinion that dust, noise, impacts on ecology and pollution on land or water could be avoided completely or reduced to non-significant levels through the implementation of standard mitigation and best practice measures.”
The firm says as its operations would take place over a relatively short period, it would be unlikely to have significant environmental effects and would be in line with national planning policy which seeks to support hydrocarbon production and contributes to UK energy security.
North Yorkshire councillor and campaign director of Frack Free United Steve Mason said the proppant squeeze technique was
“a loophole in the fracking ban that should be closed”.
He said:
“We are in a climate crisis, we do not need new fossil fuels. When will this sink in?
“The council should be asking for an EIA to take into account the emissions produced from the fossil fuels used from this site.
“This application may only be for assessment and the company claims this will not need an EIA, but it’s obvious that the intention will be to maximise the production, otherwise why would they bother?”
National park authority member Arnold Warneken called for the proposal to be screened due to potential impacts on the landscape and groundwater.
He said:
“We have got to tighten up on environmental protections. If there’s a loophole in the fracking policy then we need to ask the Government to close it, otherwise everyone who wants to frack will find this loophole.”
The council’s climate change champion, Councillor Paul Haslam added:
“I would be amazed if this does not need an EIA given the volume of traffic it would generate. I would have thought the extraction of any fossil fuel is now regarded as unlikely to happen.”
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