Privately owned Cuadrilla is preparing to hydraulically fracture the two horizontal wells it has drilled on its Preston New Road site in Lancashire, UK, after receiving government approval for the second completion. It received approval to frac the first well in July (OGJ Online, July 25, 2018).
Cuadrilla, based in Bamber Bridge, UK, plans to run initial flow tests at both wells for about 6 months. It drilled the first well into Carboniferous Lower Bowland shale at 2,300 m and the second in Upper Bowland shale at 2,100 m.
It says the wells are the first horizontal shale exploration wells drilled onshore in the UK, where popular resistance against hydraulic fracturing is strong.