Anti-fossil fuel protestors lock themselves into concrete devices at Yorkshire drilling site

Protestors have spent the last 12 hours locked into steel and concrete devices at a wellsite in East Yorkshire.
Protestors have spent the past 12 hours locked into devices at the West Newton wellsiteProtestors have spent the past 12 hours locked into devices at the West Newton wellsite
Protestors have spent the past 12 hours locked into devices at the West Newton wellsite

They are among a group protesting against renewed drilling at the gas and oil well in open countryside near Burton Constable Hall in East Yorkshire.

The pair - known only as Toni and Fran - have been lying on the floor, with trucks squeezing round them to get onto the site.

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Spokesman Ross Monaghan said: "They have been lying on the ground locked into the devices for 12 hours.

The site near Burton Constable Hall, East YorkshireThe site near Burton Constable Hall, East Yorkshire
The site near Burton Constable Hall, East Yorkshire

"There has been a police presence of 10 to 15, which has fluctuated.

"They had to remove some of the fencing and they have been squeezing trucks by to get round the protestors lying on the ground."

It is the latest in a series of protests at the site in recent weeks.

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The group says investment in onshore oil and gas flies in the face of research and government policy which says fossil fuel usage should be drastically cut to avoid “a potential crisis for the whole of humanity.”

Aerial view of the siteAerial view of the site
Aerial view of the site

Their action “against the industrialisation of the countryside” follows recent declarations of a “climate emergency” including by the UK Parliament.

Rathlin Energy (UK) Ltd was given a three-year extension in November to drill a second well to explore oil and gas reserves.

The latest exploratory borehole - WNA-2 - involves drilling 2,000 metres down and processes, including an "acid wash and squeeze" using up to 15 cubic metres of 15 per cent acid solution being squeezed into the rock formation.

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In January the Environment Agency said it dissolved the rock and could create "very small" fractures, allowing "new flow paths to enable the well to be more productive."

They insisted it was conventional gas exploration. One of the 17 conditions on the planning permission is an anti-fracking clause.

But campaigners say stimulation by injection of acid "is clearly unconventional, as generally accepted by everyone except the UK Government."

The group says drilling has been going on for around three weeks, and they believe workers have drilled to around 600m in depth.

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Humberside Police said: "Police officers are in the West Newton area to ensure the safety of everybody nearby and to enable people to go about their lawful business, whilst also protecting the right of individuals to take part in lawful protest."