First "Red" Level Tremor at British Fracture Site Put Legal Break in Operations

The return of fracking in the UK is on a really fragile start.

The law requires Cuadrilla Resources to suspend operations at its Lancashire, England site, when a magnitude 0.8 earthquake occurred in the region early Friday morning, The Guardian said.

A map showing the location of the earthquake due to fracturing on FridayBritish Geological Survey

The quake was the 17th to be recorded in the area since fracturing began on October 15, but the first to cross the "red" threshold of 0.5 in the government's traffic light system, when must legally stop.

The signaling system for the monitoring of tremors caused by fracking in the United Kingdom @frackfree_eu

The company waited 18 hours before returning to work on Saturday, but after the end of operations at 1 pm, another earthquake was detected, The Guardian reported, bringing the total to 18.

The oil and gas authorities told the Financial Times that the shocks were not of concern.

"Hydraulic fracturing is known to cause minor seismic events of this magnitude," the authority said. "While operations at the new Preston Road site were designed to minimize disruption, minor events of this type were expected."

Until now, all earthquakes have been very weak and can not be detected at ground level. However, experts say that does not mean that they can not cause harm.

"The practical importance is not to know if these tremors are felt on the surface or not, but to cause damage to the borehole and create shale gas pathways to larger faults, towards shallower aquifers and to the surface ", University of Edinburgh geology Professor Stuart Haszeldine told the Guardian.

Cuadrilla also voluntarily halted its operations on Tuesday after a tremor of 0.4, and British Geological Survey data indicate that 23 of the 26 tremors recorded in the UK since the resumption of fracking occurred near the Blackpool site in the United States. Lancashire. Fracturing was interrupted in 2011 after the 2.3 earthquake that shook the region.

A screenshot showing the strong incidence of tremors in Blackpool, Lancashire since the restart of fracking in the regionBritish Geological Survey

Meanwhile, some Conservative MPs are beginning to rebel against the support of their leaders for fracking. Richmond Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith told the Guardian that he was worried that Conservative Party support for the Fracking Party would damage his reputation with voters.

"Fracking is a problem that can potentially turn entire regions into conflict with the government," Goldsmith said. "Drilling rigs and pollution, industrial equipment and the large number of trucks make it an alarming prospect for communities across the country."

In addition to approving the two Lancashire wells, the government also proposed this spring to modify the planning rules to facilitate the approval of fracturing operations by bypassing local governments. The changes will be debated in Parliament on Wednesday and more than 20 Conservative MPs should vote against party leaders to oppose them.

"The government's proposals to soften the rules of fracking" are a matter of great concern, Lee Rowley, North West Derbyshire Conservative MP, told The Guardian. "More and more members are showing that they do not think not that the role of local communities should be reduced in such a controversial planning area. "