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There are oilfields in the South Downs too There are oilfields in the South Downs too
(about 17 hours later)
Howard J Curtis of Liverpool asks why the shale gas and oil under the South Downs national park is not being exploited (Letters, 17 October). He needs to check his facts. Oil is being extracted from under the South Downs (in Lidsey, Markwells Wood, Singleton and Storrington, for example), there are applications for four wells, including horizontal drilling at Markwells Wood, and there is a site at Broadford Bridge that was prepared by one company, and which is now on the action list by another to bring in a drill. The issues haven’t gone away from Balcombe either.Howard J Curtis of Liverpool asks why the shale gas and oil under the South Downs national park is not being exploited (Letters, 17 October). He needs to check his facts. Oil is being extracted from under the South Downs (in Lidsey, Markwells Wood, Singleton and Storrington, for example), there are applications for four wells, including horizontal drilling at Markwells Wood, and there is a site at Broadford Bridge that was prepared by one company, and which is now on the action list by another to bring in a drill. The issues haven’t gone away from Balcombe either.
And I do object to such activity taking place, not only here in West Sussex but also elsewhere, including Lancashire and North Yorkshire, when the climate change issues need to be addressed, and quickly. And I do object to such activity taking place, not only here in West Sussex but also elsewhere, including Lancashire and North Yorkshire, when the climate change issues need to be addressed, and quickly.
Why are we going after the most difficult fossil fuels to obtain, when they need to stay in the ground and when the economic return on investment is so low? When drills leak and materials can contaminate water supplies? When the Weald area has so many faults that chemicals can easily move towards streams, and when there are no facilities in the south (unlike the five in the north) to deal with the issues of waste water involving large amounts of contaminated materials that cannot be dealt with by sewage treatment works.Why are we going after the most difficult fossil fuels to obtain, when they need to stay in the ground and when the economic return on investment is so low? When drills leak and materials can contaminate water supplies? When the Weald area has so many faults that chemicals can easily move towards streams, and when there are no facilities in the south (unlike the five in the north) to deal with the issues of waste water involving large amounts of contaminated materials that cannot be dealt with by sewage treatment works.
A workshop held in the US last November to look at fracking, and attended by some 50 of the top US and UK scientists, found more than 140 questions that needed to be answered.Dr Jill SutcliffeWisborough Green, West SussexA workshop held in the US last November to look at fracking, and attended by some 50 of the top US and UK scientists, found more than 140 questions that needed to be answered.Dr Jill SutcliffeWisborough Green, West Sussex
• The South Downs has several small oilfields, including Singleton, in the middle of the national park, quietly producing oil. While natural gas was used to light Heathfield, East Sussex, after it was discovered in water wells in 1896, an initial assessment by the British Geological Survey suggests the Weald has only limited potential for shale oil. The Jurassic clays contain around 4.4 billion barrels of oil, compared with 37.6 trillion cubic metres of shale gas, which may be trapped within the Bowland shales, equivalent to 2,210 billion barrels of oil.• The South Downs has several small oilfields, including Singleton, in the middle of the national park, quietly producing oil. While natural gas was used to light Heathfield, East Sussex, after it was discovered in water wells in 1896, an initial assessment by the British Geological Survey suggests the Weald has only limited potential for shale oil. The Jurassic clays contain around 4.4 billion barrels of oil, compared with 37.6 trillion cubic metres of shale gas, which may be trapped within the Bowland shales, equivalent to 2,210 billion barrels of oil.
Though only a small fraction of this can ever be recovered, it is simply selfish to continue importing hydrocarbons from laxly regulated countries, which are left to suffer from the resulting pollution. What worries me most in the planning applications is the absence of detailed geological mapping – even when at Wisborough Green in West Sussex 1:10,560 maps existed to help to assess the surface impact of such sites.Though only a small fraction of this can ever be recovered, it is simply selfish to continue importing hydrocarbons from laxly regulated countries, which are left to suffer from the resulting pollution. What worries me most in the planning applications is the absence of detailed geological mapping – even when at Wisborough Green in West Sussex 1:10,560 maps existed to help to assess the surface impact of such sites.
Even if we cut back drastically on consumption, we cannot afford to reject cleaner forms of transitional carbon technologies, including coalbed methane and carbon capture. Given that the UK has a dire balance of payments, these savings are needed to pay for the alternative energy we desperately need.David NowellFellow of the Geological SocietyEven if we cut back drastically on consumption, we cannot afford to reject cleaner forms of transitional carbon technologies, including coalbed methane and carbon capture. Given that the UK has a dire balance of payments, these savings are needed to pay for the alternative energy we desperately need.David NowellFellow of the Geological Society
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com