Frequently asked questions

Aren’t we supposed to be heading toward Net Zero?

The plans for Cloughton are in line with the UK Government’s commitments for Net Zero by 2050. Even under Net Zero plans the UK will require natural gas up to and possibly beyond 2050 under Government-supported Carbon Capture and Hydrogen use scenarios. Domestic production is better for the environment than imported gas.

How are the implications considered at wider (not local) level?

This development is being considered at national level and as part of the Government’s Net Zero commitment.

What effect could the proposed development have on water supply in the immediate area?

The impact on the hydrology of the local area including shallow water boreholes and springs will be examined by an independent third party as part of the planning process. This report will be publicly available. In particular with respect to the well there will be a further independent third party study addressing the design of the well and the proppant squeeze and any potential impact on any subsurface aquifers both shallow and at depth. This report will be publicly available. These concerns as well as others relating to well design and the proppant squeeze will be regulated by the EA (Environment Agency), HSE (Health and Safety Executive), NSTA (North Sea Transition Authority) and a government regulated Independent Well Examiner. There will be no effect on the local mains water supply as water used at site (other than drinking water) will come in via tanker.

What happens to the water used or produced on site?

All water used on site (even rainwater run-off) will be collected and stored in tanks and then transported by a licensed operator to a wastewater disposal site for processing.

What about air quality?

There may be some dust emissions during the construction phase of the development, but this will be mitigated as much as possible with damping, especially in dry conditions. However, the site is located around 300m from the nearest residential property. The Environment Agency licensing permit and monitoring will ensure that there will be no release of hydrocarbon gas or odorous gases into the atmosphere.

Who would pay for the archaeology assessment and who do they submit their findings to, is this private information?

An independent third party is commissioned to do archaeology assessment as part of the planning process. The information will be made public for comment.

Will the lorries transporting the rig fit through the village?

All vehicles used, except the drilling rig mast transport, are road-standard and therefore will fit comfortably on the local road network. The favoured route will be into Burniston from the south on the Scalby Road so completely avoiding the village high street. The rig mast transport will be approximately 3.17m wide and, while it will fit comfortably on the road network from the south to the village, will require a wide load escort and will most likely be routed up the A165 and therefore totally avoid the village.

Where do we find details of access route and details of HGV movements?

Details of access routes, HGV movement, rig movement and the number of vehicles per day can be found on this website and will be part of the planning application.

Nearby cliffs are very delicate and could be de-stabilised or eroded. Local scientific sites are important. How will this be addressed?

We are engaging with Natural England under their Discretionary Advice Service (DAS) and will continue to do so as the application develops.

While our planning is still ongoing, we will, of course, ensure that there is no risk to the Heritage Coast cliffs from our proposed works on site.

The well pad will be more than 1km from the cliffs and the bottom hole location (the base of the well) would be more than 2km from the cliffs.

The planning application will consider landscape effects including any impact on the Heritage Coast and National Park along with noise and light pollution with respect to residents as well as air quality. It should be noted that the site has been chosen in response to the advice of the National Park Authority.

Will there be flaring of gas produced at the site?

It will involve some temporary flaring, none of which will be visible, even at night, from the village as the flare will be safely enclosed (shrouded) which prevents light pollution.

What about the Horse Hill ruling that future emissions of gas produced should be considered?

Europa will be submitting a full assessment of the estimated Scope 3 emissions likely to be generated by the proposed development in line with the Supreme Court ruling which now necessitates the recording of emissions. Any development approval will be in line with the Governments Net Zero commitments which Europa is committed to.

Is this bringing heavy industry to the village?

No, the development is not heavy industry.

The site would involve no more disruption than a small (2-3 homes) housing development for a period of nine months.

Will there be social issues caused by staff?

There will never be large numbers of staff on site. At peak times in the project site staff numbers would not exceed circa 20 individuals. Temporary accommodation on site would be limited to 4-5 people, mainly for security. Our staff and contractors will always be considerate.

What about flooding in the area?

A full hydrological, flood risk and surface water drainage assessment will be undertaken as part of the planning process. This will need to demonstrate and ensure there is no increased risk of flooding as a result of our development in the local area.

A site at Staintondale was deemed too complex to extract and was abandoned, could this happen with the Cloughton-2 well?

An original discovery well, drilled in 1986, called Cloughton #1, which is near Staintondale just off the A171, discovered the Cloughton gas field which is the target of this well, Cloughton #2. At the time Cloughton was deemed non-commercial by the company that drilled and tested it.

There is a chance that the temporary well Cloughton #2 at Burniston will also not progress due to complexities in recovering the gas present. If the site does not progress it will be remediated and returned to its current use as was the Cloughton #1 site.

Alison Hume MP is very anti-fracking and is looking at this mini fracking loophole, what is your view on this?

It is a misconception that there is a loophole. Fracking (high volume fracturing) associated with Shale gas development is banned due to risks associated with induced seismic activity (earthquakes).

Cloughton #2 is not a shale gas development. Europa is proposing a conventional low-volume fracture in sandstones, known in the industry as a proppant squeeze. This is a proven safe operational technique, which has been used on wells for decades in the UK and, unlike fracking (high volume fracturing), is approved for use in the industry.

Alison Hume MP has commented that all operations involving any induced fracture should be banned however there is no supporting rationale for this. There is no evidence that supports the banning of a proppant squeeze on Health & Safety or environmental grounds.

Europa has reached out to Alison Hume MP to discuss the proposed development but has yet to receive any response.

The Coastguard/Search & Rescue station is in the industrial units next to the site and access is essential, will this be at risk?

There will be no changes to access to the industrial units and 24/7 access will be maintained at all times.

Fracking is associated with earthquakes, do you believe this is a risk?

Fracking (high volume fracturing) associated with Shale gas development is banned due to risks associated with induced seismic activity (earthquakes). Europa does not support such practice and has no interest in pursuing high volume fracturing or shale gas development.

Furthermore, Europa has ensured that the Burniston site can never be used for such development as a condition of the site lease.

The small-scale fracture or proppant squeeze proposed is a proven safe operational technique. There will be no earthquakes as a result of this operation. Despite there being no risk we will still monitor seismic activity at the site and the operation will be immediately shut down if any unusual seismic activity is noted as a result.

There will be more than 1,000 HGVs, don’t you think this is excessive?

This is true but they will be over a period of nine months. At most it will be 18 vehicles during one day of the nine months with an average over the nine-month period of 4 per day. See pull up on traffic movement details by phase of the development.

What if private or public property is damaged as a result of the project?

It is unlikely that there will be any damage to any property in the village or surrounding area. However, in the unlikely event that property is damaged as a result of the activities, Europa is fully insured for all aspects of the project and any damage caused to property will be repaired and returned to its prior condition.

How will the project impact local property prices?

There is no evidence of onshore UK drilling having a negative impact on local property prices. In fact, Sandbanks has some of the UK’s most expensive real estate and is located adjacent to the UK’s largest onshore oil field, Wytch Farm, which is located on the banks of Poole Harbour.