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| West Sussex site targeted for shale gas test drilling | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Shale gas company Cuadrilla is to carry out exploratory drilling at a site in West Sussex. | Shale gas company Cuadrilla is to carry out exploratory drilling at a site in West Sussex. |
| Cuadrilla plans to drill a 3,000ft (914m) vertical well and a 2,500ft (762m) horizontal bore to the south of Balcombe, near Haywards Heath, in June. | |
| It said if oil and gas were discovered tests would be carried out but neither wells would be hydraulically-fractured. | |
| Balcombe Parish Council said it had been given assurances that fracking would not take place at the site. | Balcombe Parish Council said it had been given assurances that fracking would not take place at the site. |
| It told representatives of Cuadrilla it was "committed to oppose" the technique, during a meeting on 3 May. | |
| Exploration borehole | Exploration borehole |
| Fracking is a process that involves pumping water and chemicals into shale rock at high pressure to extract gas. | |
| It was banned temporarily in the UK in 2011, after it was blamed for two earth tremors in Lancashire. | |
| Environmentalists are concerned about possible contamination of water supplies. | Environmentalists are concerned about possible contamination of water supplies. |
| In December, Cuadrilla said it had no intention "at the moment" of drilling to the area south of the village, where it now has permission to drill a borehole for oil and gas exploration. | |
| On Wednesday, a spokesman for the energy company said: "Cuadrilla has had planning permission from West Sussex County Council for further exploratory drilling since 2010. | |
| "This permission has a deadline attached to it and so Cuadrilla is keen to complete this approved activity before the permission expires." | |
| Chief executive Francis Egan added: "Although this summer's work will be unobtrusive, we're fully aware that local people will have many questions about our plans and we'll do our best to answer all of them. | Chief executive Francis Egan added: "Although this summer's work will be unobtrusive, we're fully aware that local people will have many questions about our plans and we'll do our best to answer all of them. |
| "During the coming months, we will discuss our plans with residents and they will be able to visit the site to see for themselves what our work involves." | "During the coming months, we will discuss our plans with residents and they will be able to visit the site to see for themselves what our work involves." |
| The exploratory drilling is expected to last for about four months. | The exploratory drilling is expected to last for about four months. |