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Britain is taking steps to permanently seal its last remaining fracking wells, marking a stark departure from the United States’ approach of leveraging domestic natural gas resources for economic growth.
The North Sea Transition Authority has issued a directive requiring the permanent closure of two natural gas wells situated at Preston New Road in Lancashire. According to The Telegraph, Cuadrilla, the wells’ operator, will begin the concrete filling process next month.
This decision comes at a time when Britain continues to increase its natural gas imports from various sources, including the United States, to satisfy its energy requirements, as renewable alternatives alone cannot yet fully support the nation’s power needs.
Cuadrilla has expressed strong opposition to the permanent closure, highlighting the potential role of domestic shale gas in enhancing Britain’s energy independence. The company noted that the country’s gas reserves have declined by more than 30% compared to the previous year.
Green Madness: UK to Fill Last Natural Gas Fracking Wells With Cement https://t.co/WicBMXrO2Y
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 31, 2025
“The UK is heavily reliant on natural gas to keep the lights on, to heat our homes and to provide cost-effective energy to British industry,” stated Cuadrilla chief executive Francis Egan.
“Keeping these wells open doesn’t cost taxpayers a penny, but once they are concreted over then we lose easy access to supplies of shale gas that could be used for decades to come.”
The practice of fracking was initially prohibited in England under Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May’s leadership in 2019, following reports of minor seismic activity at a Lancashire test site, though the connection between fracking and earthquakes remains contested in Britain.
While former Prime Minister Liz Truss attempted to reverse this ban, her successor Rishi Sunak quickly reinstated it after she left office, in what she claimed was a deep state plot against her brief administration.
Successive governments’ reluctance to utilize Britain’s natural resources, coupled with increased reliance on imports and substantial investments in renewable energy, has left the country vulnerable to international market fluctuations, such as those caused by the Ukrainian conflict.
'You are literally cutting off your nose to spite your face.'@SebGorka reacts to the news that two of Britain's only viable shale gas wells are to be filled with concrete and permanently decommissioned.
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— GB News (@GBNEWS) February 10, 2022
International Energy Agency data reveals that Britain had the highest energy prices among all 31 member states in 2023, reaching 25.85 cents per kilowatt hour. This contrasts sharply with France’s 17.84p, Germany’s 17.71p, and the United States’ 6.48p. The figure also represents a significant increase from Britain’s rate of 8.89p a decade ago.
Nevertheless, the Labour government remains committed to environmental initiatives, pledging to achieve a “zero carbon electricity system by 2030”.
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice, who has consistently supported fracking in Britain, described the Preston New Road wells’ closure as “gross negligence, both financial and for energy security”.
“We have hundreds of billions of pounds of taxpayer-owned shale gas we should be using,” he said. “We should adopt Trump’s slogan: ‘drill baby drill’.”
