Founder Dr Chris Cornelius Headquarters Lichfield | Founded 2007 | |
Industry oil and gas exploration Key people Lord Browne, Chairman, Francis Egan, CEO Website www.cuadrillaresources.com CEO Francis Egan (9 Jul 2012–) Profiles |
Cuadrilla resources an introduction
Cuadrilla Resources is an oil and gas exploration and production company founded in 2007 with headquarters and operations in the United Kingdom. It is best known for its ongoing effort to develop shale gas in the UK by using hydraulic fracturing. Its chairman is Lord Browne, former chief of BP and the chief executive is Francis Egan.
Contents
- Cuadrilla resources an introduction
- Cuadrilla resources hydraulic fracturing demonstration
- Corporate structure
- Operations
- Lancashire
- Elsewhere in the United Kingdom
- Poland
- Netherlands
- Hungary
- Controversies
- Claim of economic benefits of hydraulic fracturing
- Misleading advertising
- References
Cuadrilla resources hydraulic fracturing demonstration
Corporate structure
Cuadrilla is a privately owned company with headquarters in the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 2007, financed with investment from the Australian engineering company A.J. Lucas and the Anglo-American equity firm Riverstone Holdings. As of March 2016 it is owned 45% by AJ Lucas, and equally by Riverstone LLC, while Cuadrilla management owns the remaining 10%. In 2009, Riverstone had settled corruption charges in New York through its partner The Carlyle Group.
Its chairman is Lord Browne, former chief of BP and President of The Royal Academy of Engineering from 2006−2011.The chief executive is Francis Egan. Cuadrilla is Spanish for group or party, and is pronounced in English roughly as /kwəˈdriːjə/.
Operations
As of 2013, the company held licences for ten sites in the UK and had drilled three wells, all in Lancashire, one of which has been hydraulically fractured since 1993 by a previous owner; The company produces gas from that well, completed in sandstone.
Lancashire
Other sites:
Elsewhere in the United Kingdom
A proposed test well, half a mile from Balcombe in West Sussex, scheduled for summer 2013, was the scene of protests. Caudrilla had explained that the drilling would last no more than four months and would not involve fracking, however they were to use acid washing to open natural fractures. Their planning permission was to expire on 28 September 2013. They were to take samples of rock at around 900m (3,000 feet). Cuadrilla suspended its drilling plans in August 2013 after consulting with the Sussex police, citing "threats of direct action against the exploration site". The company said that the halt was done in the interests of safety of the drilling crew, the protesters, and the public.
Other sites:
Poland
Since 2012, Cuadrilla has held a hydrocarbon exploration licence ("Pionki licence") over an 827 square-kilometer area in Poland with the northern half or "Lublin Trough" containing Devonian and carboniferous shales and the southern half or the "Radom-Krasnik High" containing Silurian and Devonian shales.
Netherlands
Cuadrilla has also pursued exploration activities in the Netherlands. In Noordoostpolder 202,379 acres composed of Namurian shales are predicted to contain multi trillion cubic feet (TCF) shale gas and in Noord Brabant 476,666 acres of Carboniferous, Triassic, Jurassic shales are thought to contain tight gas, shale gas, and oil shale.
Hungary
Cuadrilla has been known to pursue exploration in Hungary. In Tompa 38,796 acres composed of recomplete Miocene were described to contain multi TCF Basin Centred TGS.
Controversies
Controversies surrounding the earthquakes at Weeton, Lancashire, and the protests at Balcombe, West Sussex, are described above.
Claim of economic benefits of hydraulic fracturing
Cuadrilla gave evidence to the British parliament in Westminster in 2011, based on an analysis by Pöyry consultancy, that using the shale gas reserves in Lancashire could lower British natural gas prices by as much as four percent, and indirectly lower electricity prices. However, at a 2013 meeting in Sussex Cuadrilla's public relations spokesman Mark Linder of Bell Pottinger said "We've done an analysis and it's [the influence on prices] a very small…at the most it's a very small percentage…basically insignificant."
Misleading advertising
In April 2013, the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) compelled Cuadrilla to withdraw a brochure published the previous year following a complaint by anti-fracking group Refracktion concerning 18 statements it argued were misleading, of which the ASA upheld 6, plus one in part. Cuadrilla reportedly hired Westbourne Communications to assist with its efforts to promote fracking.