Rathlin Energy (UK) have released a statement in response to the planed Anti-Fracking Protest that is to be held in Beverley next Saturday expressing their concerns over their business being linked to Fracking.
A spokesman for Rathlin Energy (UK) Limited, said:
“We celebrate the fact that we live in a free society where people can legitimately, lawfully and peacefully protest. We understand that some ‘East Yorkshire’ residents want to raise concerns about the hydraulic fracturing process, (more commonly known as fracking) and that they intend to march through the streets of Beverley on Saturday 5th July 2014 as a way of airing their concerns.
“It is important that Rathlin Energy (UK) Limited’s exploratory work at Crawberry Hill and West Newton is not linked to this debate as the company is not fracking at either of these sites.”
FACTS:
- Rathlin is a company that explores, develops and produces from well sites
- Rathlin is exploring with the hope of finding commercial quantities of conventional gas
- Rathlin has all of the relevant planning permissions and environmental permits in place to carry out the current exploratory phase
- If Rathlin discovers commercial quantities of oil or gas, it will make the necessary applications to develop and produce to the relevant authorities
- Rathlin will continue to operate safely and in an environmentally responsible manner in every facet of its work
- Rathlin has communicated widely and will continue to do so
- Hydraulic fracturing does not form part of all oil and gas exploration activities
- Rathlin is not hydraulically fracturing these wells
- Rathlin has never had any intention of hydraulically fracturing these wells
- Rathlin does not plan to hydraulically fracture the wells in the future
Since Rathlin arrived in the East Riding of Yorkshire three years ago it has: held four large public consultation events; arranged 25 local community liaison committee meetings; launched an open and transparent website; responded to every single media enquiry received; and has circulated around 40,000 newsletters.
Additionally, local representatives for the community liaison groups have circulated their notes and interpretations from the community liaison meetings to their fellow constituents.
The company has also met with local representatives from Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and HEY Frack-off.
The spokesman continued:
“The protestors appear to be planning to march through Beverley as a protest against Rathlin’s work, however, Rathlin is not doing the things that the protestors are campaigning against. It seems unfair, therefore, that something of this nature should be associated with Rathlin’s name. Hopefully, residents from East Yorkshire will choose to actively communicate these facts as part of their awareness raising campaign.”
hope you are covering the march on Saturday. The people of Beverley are very happy to have the protestors here, the same cannot be said about Rathlin.
No sorry will not be in Beverley during the weekend, and yes some of local population are happy to have them here others are not. It is up to the people who march to start to show they can behave too as the last few times they have come into the town centre there have been issues.
Rathlin are less than honest. They may not intend to frack but if they find what they are looking for, they will sell on to another company who will frack. Why have they already drilled beyond conventional oil levels?
This march has not been organised by the protestors, it’s been set up by concerned local residents (of which I am one, having lived here for more than 42years).
If anyone takes the time to read Rathlins risk assessment for their current planning permission you will see they are allowed, and are intending to perform a fall off test or mini-frack (they do not class this as fracking only because in the full definition of fracking horizontal drilling has to take place – which has not yet happened at Crawberry Hill)
From Rathlins own documents/risk assessment:
Crawberry Hill Wellsite Enviromental Risk Assessment – Exploratory Operations
(RE-05-EPRA-CH-ERA-007 issued 16/01/2014)
Crawberry Hill Wellsite Non-Technical Summary Exploratory Operations
(RE-05-EPRA-CH—NTS-003 issued 16/01/2014)
ID 011 the hazard is stated as spent hydrochloric acid from acid wash and squeeze operations. This is used to expand existing channels within the rock formation to aid petroleum products to flow to the surface.
The expected quantity of waste spent hydrochloric acid is expected to be approximately 11 tonnes.
ID 012 Hazard is stated as Stimulation Fluid (flow back fluid) from conventional Hydraulic Fracture Stimulation. This stimulation fluid is comprised of sand (%), hydrochloric acid (%), gelling agent (%).
All these documents are easily viewable in full on the East Riding Council
As Rathlin have stated in the article I’m also sure they will not be involved in the commercial fracking off all our wonderful countryside and potential contamination of the aquafier which supplies water to the entire region – but I’m sure the company that Rathlin sell the licence to will be doing just that.
We need as many people as possible at this march on Saturday to show how concerned the local population is about this. Please don’t ingnore this issue until it’s too late to do anything about it…
As a local resident I shall be on the march in Beverley next Saturday. As someone has already posted this is a march by local residents of the East
Riding, and not by the Protection Community who are based at Crawberry Hill, near Walkington, and at Forsham. near West Newton, east of Beverley.
The mini fall-off test which will soon be undertaken by Rathlin, has been known by other bodies as “Fracking”. It is a case of interpretation of the term.
Rathlins Permit application states “The information gathered during the mini fall-off test will help determine whether the formation is capable of being hydraulically fractured. Hydraulic fracturing is not being considered as part of the application which this plan supports.
Okay, they say they are not fracking in this application, other than the mini fall-off test, but if the mini fall-off test shows that hydraulically fracturing is feasible in the future, you can rest assured Rathlin or some other company will be applying to frack in the future.
Rathlin are wasting their time. The ‘protectors’ are not bothered – they have no ideology, they drift from cause to cause expecting others to pay their way. Anyone who disagrees is a nazi or fascist scum, they want to intimidate and bully. Using cameras, filming personal car numbers for the purpose of thinly veiled threats of violence. I am not part of the energy industry and had little view either way, the anarchists have made my mind up though.
we need to leave any gas or oil in the ground to limit climate change, it may not be fracking now but will be in the future, the same is happening in shropshire with plans for coalbed methane, what does fracking mean? all wells need stimulating and we need to protest against any extreme forms of energy, have a great day on sat.The world is watching and the action is taking place from USA to Australia, join together to change the world.
My husband and I attended the march this morning. It was a great experience, with lots of people we’ve never met who have examined the evidence and come to a similar conclusion to that we reached. We are against fracking (and testing to see if it’s viable) for many reasons, but on this occasion it was the fact that if Rathlin drill down through the water aquifer they are endangering our water supply on the South Bank of the Humber. The government may give companies the right to frack under our homes, but I’m not aware that anyone has the right to pollute our supply of fresh water. That is attacking our basic human right to clean water, and we demonstrated against it today.