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Residents urge refusal for controversial drilling plans
Councillors are being urged to resist a controversial application for exploratory drilling near an East Riding village.
Plans to drill up to two wells for oil or gas just outside Walkington near Beverley by Rathlin Energy (UK) Ltd, a subsidiary of Canadian company Connaught Oil and Gas Ltd, were deferred in November, following protests.
But planners are recommending for approval of the proposals at a meeting at County Hall in Beverley next week.
A seismic survey carried out last January found up to six potential reservoirs, between a depth of 1100m and 2500m, and a report to the meeting says the applicants’ primary objective will be to drill into the “Caedby Carbonate Reef”, which could prove “a geological trap for petroleum.” Test drilling took place nearby in 1972.
Some villagers are concerned about drilling through an underground aquifer which supplies much of the region’s drinking water and the techniques which will be used to release the deposits.
Despite the company’s repeated denials, they are particularly concerned about whether “fracking” - a controversial technique involving the hydraulic fracturing of shale rock using high pressure liquid - will be used if commercial quantities of petroleum are found.
Walkington Parish Council is asking for a deferral till next month and a written statement from Rathlin that fracking won’t be used.
Locals are also worried about the potential release of naturally-occurring hydrogen sulphide, which creates a rotten egg smell drifting over the villages of Walkington and Bishop Burton and to the town of Beverley beyond.
Resident Peter Rolinson, a water chemist, who is due to speak at the meeting on Thursday: “I’ve worked in the oil industry in the past and still have some involvement and I am not knocking oil exploration in general, I just think this is flawed in many areas.
“A lot of people in Walkington and Bishop Burton have major concerns particularly about the water aquifer; instances of contamination of water by the oil industry are rare, but do happen.
“If you get it wrong it won’t just be just Walkington and Bishop Burton that will be affected, it’s anywhere on the Sherwood sandstone aquifer, which is several thousand people.
“The production of hydrogen sulphide gas is a common problem; with the prevailing winds being south-westerly if there’s any evolution of toxic gas, it will drift over the two villages and potentially Beverley. There are steps they can take to correct the problem, but it would need the use of potentially hazardous chemicals to control the problem.
“Chances are it will be OK, but if it goes wrong, it could be an environmental disaster for an area which is currently unspoilt.”
Rathlin Energy (UK) Ltd, of Wimpole Street, London, insists fracking will not be used and says drilling will be done in the same manner as other wells in the county, including at Caythorpe, Atwick, Aldbrough and Market Weighton.
The well be drilled to 198m using a steel conductor and the borehole will be cased to 1400m, beyond the depth of the rock which holds groundwater.
A statement from chairman David Montagu-Smith and general manager Tom Selkirk said: “We fully appreciate the concerns to protect the environment in which we propose to work, including such critically omportant issues as the protection of the aquifer. We propose to protect the aquifer by installing steel and concrete casing in the well to a depth below sea level - below the depth of the local aquifer.”
It adds that the company is “heavily insured for third party losses and damage” and says they want the “best possible relationship” with those living nearby. They state: “We welcome the opportunity to explain everything that we will do - and just as importantly what we will not do - in the course of our operations.”
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