UK resumes fracking after seven-year hiatus

Fracking is underway again in northern England, but don’t expect a US-style shale boom any time soon

After a seven-year pause, hydraulic fracturing for shale gas restarted in the UK in mid-October. But, even if test fracking by driller Cuadrilla in north-west England goes well, it's unlikely that the industry can be scaled up as fast as the industry might like. Cuadrilla has already drilled two horizontal exploration wells at depths below 2,000m in the Bowland Shale formation at its Preston New Road site in Lancashire in anticipation of receiving a green light. Now it has the go-ahead to frack them - a process which it says will take around three months. The gas flow rate will be tested over six months with initial results expected in the first quarter 2019, according to the company. Cuadri