Keele Scientist co-authors major national report on fracking

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Posted on 20 April 2012

Professor Peter Styles, Applied and Environmental Geophysics Research Group, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, hit the headlines this week after he jointly authored a report on the controversial gas extraction method, fracking, which triggered two earth tremors near Blackpool last year.
 
The Department of Energy and Climate Change published the independent expert report which recommended measures to mitigate the risks of seismic tremors from hydraulic fracturing - and is inviting public comment on its recommendations.
The panel's report now goes out for a six-week consultation period, with DECC set to issue a firm set of regulations at some point after that.

Professor Styles said, in a BBC interview: "[Cuadrilla's experts] said there was a very low probability of other earthquakes during future treatments of other wells. We agree that [last year's] events are attributable to the existence of an adjacent geological fault that had not been identified. There might be other comparable faults, (and) we believe it's not possible to categorically reject the possibility of further quakes."

DECC's Chief Scientific Advisor David MacKay said: "If shale gas is to be part of the UK's energy mix we need to have a good understanding of its potential environmental impacts and what can be done to mitigate those impacts. This comprehensive independent expert review of Cuadrilla's evidence suggests a set of robust measures to make sure future seismic risks are minimised - not just at this location but at any other potential sites across the UK."

The report was covered, and featured interviews with Professor Styles, on BBC News, Sky News, Channel 4 News, ITV News, BBC Radio 4, BBC 5-Live, many regional BBC radio stations and by Reuters, PA, the Independent, Daily Mail, Telegraph and Guardian, plus other national and regional newspapers.

Peter Styles was also quoted in a report in the Telegraph dated 8.5.12

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