DORSET COAST UNDER THREAT OF FRACKING!

This aerial view of Bournemouth, Poole and the Jurassic coast is stunning, isn't it?
7 miles of sandy beaches which have repeatedly been deemed the best beaches in Europe by TripAdvisor.

You may be very surprised to learn that this precious coastline, loved by many hundreds of thousands of visitors each year is at risk from the fossil fuel industry.

The most famous onshore oil extraction operation is located nearby on Furzey Island.

The island lies to the south of the larger Brownsea Island. Seen from the water, or adjoining land, the island looks like another wild pineclad island. However, hidden in the trees are twenty-two oil wells split into 2 well-sites for the Wytch Farm Oil Field, which is linked by pipeline to Hamble on Southampton Water.
Often cited as the finest example of onshore drilling in the UK, Wytch Farm Oil Field has had its fair share of undisclosed spills and problems.

With regard to shale gas fracking Southampton University implies that it has not taken place in the Wytch Farm area, saying – “If fracking was ever to take place offshore in mature Jurassic shales of the Portland – Isle of Wight Basin…” and “… note onshore Dorset generally does not have thermally mature shale; the real prospects are only in the Jurassic basin offshore“.

The University site also illustrates how gas can escape upwards along fault lines.
Further, part of the Wytch Farm facilities are on Furzey Island in Poole Harbour and by definition nowhere near any residences. Other onshore facilities are surrounded by water on three sides and are again not near residences. There are no towns or villages within about 3km of any part of the site and it is not upstream of any major reservoirs. The number of residences (farms) near the site is very low.

The Wytch Farm site is intensive as it concentrates a lot of production from under the harbour into a relatively small surface area by using multiple wells and extended directional drilling for up to 10.5 km beneath the sea. The whole site occupies about 18 ha of land – plus interconnecting pipelines, 3 km of private access road, 91 km of oil pipeline and 18 km of gas pipeline plus gas processing facilities elsewhere. Quite a major industrial complex.

http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~imw/Oil-South-of-England.htm

For the past 4 years UK Protectors have been aware of additional Petroleum Development licences granted by the British government and we have worked very hard to resist their implementation.

In 2013 a company called Infrastrata quietly applied for planning permission to drill a field, adjacent to California Quarry, Swanage which is owned by the Suttle family. This was passed with a proviso that the drilling take place during out of summer season months and before 3rd December 2016.

A small team of local people set up a group called Stop the Swanage Gas Rig and began lobbying their town council immediately. However, the decision to grant planning permission for the well had been taken at county level and we were left with no alternative but to occupy the field with a Protection Camp when Infrastrata announced that the site was about to be prepared.

From September until 3rd December 2016 the camp remained in control of the field and Infrastrata conceded defeat by relinquishing their licence and pulling out of exploration. Their CEO resigned but set up a new company called Corallian Energy which gained control of the exploration licence.

This year Corallian Energy have applied for permission to site an oil rig to drill an appraisal well less than 10 miles off the Dorset coast near Bournemouth beach. The rig would be in place for some 45 days between mid-April and June, and September and December to avoid the summer season.
If oil or gas is located the plan is to extract horizontally from Wytch Farm.

This plan beggars the question:

If this is the long term objective why isn't Wytch Farm drilling horizontally into the shale layer themselves?

With that question unanswered the concerned residents of Dorset, supported by Anti Fracking International, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Green Party have raised letters of objection such as this one:

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/16036809.kate-humble-and-chris-packham-among-those-opposing-poole-bay-oil-rig-plan/?ref=mr&lp=18

We also have a petition to sign:

https://www.change.org/p/say-no-to-the-poole-bay-oil-rig-colter-98-11-e-appraisal-well?recruiter=45085535&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_content=ex61%3Av5

Please share our news, the petition and help us prevent this unnecessary risk to our beautiful coastline and marine life.

For more information about how the fossil fuel industry continues to threaten the British way of life visit and join our group on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/543602242428219