Fracking is due to begin in Lancashire on Monday.
Energy firm Cuadrilla had hoped to start work at the site in at Preston New Road, Little Plumpton, near Blackpool, on Saturday but this was delayed by the effects of Storm Callum.
A spokesman for Cuadrilla said on Saturday: “Due to the weather conditions yesterday afternoon and this morning, we will now start pumping on Monday.
“In high winds we couldn’t use the crane to manoeuvre some equipment into place.”
Hydraulic fracturing to go ahead at Preston New Road shale gas exploration site in Lancashire. To view the full statement visit: https://t.co/53CaPL6ZuK
— Cuadrilla (@CuadrillaUK) October 12, 2018
At a hearing in London on Friday, Mr Justice Supperstone dismissed Bob Dennett’s application for an injunction preventing the company from fracking the UK’s first horizontal shale gas well pending his proposed legal challenge.
Mr Dennett claimed Lancashire County Council’s emergency response planning and procedures at the site were inadequate, but the judge ruled there was not a “serious issue” to be tried which would justify an interim order.
Hydraulic fracturing – or fracking as it is sometimes called – is the long established process of creating fractures in rock formations to release the natural gas trapped inside. To learn more about the process visit https://t.co/y0ThsIHYqB pic.twitter.com/zJnuYZpgRB
— Cuadrilla (@CuadrillaUK) October 10, 2018
In a statement after the ruling, Cuadrilla chief executive Francis Egan said: “We are delighted to be starting our hydraulic fracturing operations as planned. We are now commencing the final operational phase to evaluate the commercial potential for a new source of indigenous natural gas in Lancashire.
“If commercially recoverable, this will displace costly imported gas with lower emissions, significant economic benefit and better security of energy supply for the UK.”
