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Although hydraulic fracturing in the United Kingdom has been common in North Sea oil and gas fields since the late 1970s,〔 and has been used in about 200 British onshore oil and gas wells since the early 1980s, the technique did not attract public attention until its use was proposed for onshore shale gas wells in 2007 and 2008. Although hydraulic fracturing is often used synonymously to refer to shale gas and other unconventional oil and gas sources, it is not always correct to associate it with unconventional gas.〔 〕 In the United Kingdom, as in other countries—and in particular the United States, where the industry is most advanced and widespread hydraulic fracturing has generated a large amount of controversy. The European Union has also issued an approval for hydraulic fracturing under certain conditions from January 2014. It recognises that it can be an economic boost but there is a need to not repeat the pollution incidents that have occurred in the US. The process was suspended in the UK between June 2011 and April 2012 after triggering minor earthquakes, but a report into the incidents concluded that earthquake risk was minimal, and recommended the process be given nationwide clearance. The Royal Academy of Engineering published this report in June 2012, highlighting certain concerns, that lead to a raft of regulation for the industry. A detailed briefing paper was issued in late 2015 for the Houses of Parliament. This gives a full review of current thinking.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06073/SN06073.pdf )〕 ==History== The first experimental use of hydraulic fracturing was in 1947, and the first commercially successful applications of hydraulic fracturing were in 1949. In the United Kingdom, the first North Sea well hydraulic fracturing was carried out shortly after discovery of the West Sole field in 1965. First hydraulic fracturing from ship was conducted in the United Kingdom in 1980.〔 Onshore, approximately 200 wells have been hydraulically fractured which is about 10% of all onshore wells in the United Kingdom. It includes Wytch Farm, which is the largest onshore oil field in western Europe.〔 Worldwide, massive hydraulic fracturing was first used in thousands of gas wells in the western United States in the early 1970s.〔C.R. Fast, G.B. Holman, and R. J. Covlin, "The application of massive hydraulic fracturing to the tight Muddy 'J' Formation, Wattenberg Field, Colorado," ''in'' Harry K. Veal, (ed.), ''Exploration Frontiers of the Central and Southern Rockies'' (Denver: Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, 1977) 293-300.〕 Massive hydraulic fracturing spread in the late 1970s to western Canada, Rotliegend and Carboniferous gas-bearing sandstones in Germany, Netherlands onshore and offshore gas fields, and the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea.〔 As of 2012, 2.5 million hydraulic fracturing jobs have been performed on oil and gas wells. The US Dept of the Interior/USGS published a detailed history of the process in the US.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2014/5131/pdf/sir2014-5131.pdf )〕 The surge of public interest in shale hydraulic fracuring in the UK can be traced to 2007, when Cuadrilla Resources was granted a licence for shale gas exploration along the coast of Lancashire. Cuadrilla has American-Australian-British ownership, though close ties have developed between China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and one of Cuadrilla's backers. The company's first and only hydraulic fracturing job to date was performed in March 2011 near Blackpool. Cuadrilla halted operations at Lancashire drilling site due to seismic activity damaging the casing in the production zone. Other companies, including Eden Energy, UK Methane Ltd, Coastal Oil and Gas, Celtique Energie, and IGas Energy, have obtained exploration licences, with test drilling being carried out in Somerset, Glamorgan, Cheshire and other locations. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hydraulic fracturing in the United Kingdom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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