INEOS Shale submits environmental screening report to Derbyshire County Council
- Formal application for a vertical coring well to follow
INEOS Shale, an operating division of INEOS Upstream Limited, has identified a potential new exploration drilling site close to the village of Marsh Lane in the Parish of Eckington and has submitted an environmental screening report to Derbyshire County Council. A formal planning application for a vertical coring well will follow in due course.
The proposal is to evaluate the underground geology by drilling a vertical well and taking samples of the rocks for laboratory analysis to identify the geological characteristics of the rock and its gas-producing properties.
As part of the screening process, a period of consultation will take place with statutory bodies. Local residents will have the opportunity to participate in this process through an exhibition to be held at a local venue. Details will be publicised when a time and date has been fixed.
INEOS looks forward to working alongside the local community to ensure that the important issues have been discussed considered and are understood prior to the planning application being submitted.
ENDS.
Notes:
INEOS believes that energy provision is currently a key issue for the UK. As we close our coal and nuclear power stations, we will need to find low carbon alternatives for energy if we want to keep our homes warm and the lights on. Gas is one of these alternatives, and potentially we in the UK have a huge supply of indigenous gas under our own feet. This is not a ‘new’ carbon fuel. It is exactly the same as North Sea Gas, which is in significant decline. The use of our own indigenous gas replaces the same type of fuel imported from around the world. Nor does this mean more carbon will be emitted as gas will replace coal, which emits twice the level of CO2. And no matter which fuel is used in the UK, energy efficiency remains essential.
The screening report has been prepared to support a request to the Mineral Planning Authority (Derbyshire County Council) to determine whether the application for a temporary planning permission to drill a vertical core to explore for shale gas constitutes an Environmental Impact Assessment development.
Website: www.ineosshale.com
Twitter: @INEOS_Shale