Planning process for shale gas development
Appraisal
The appraisal phase helps the site operator gather further information about the extent of the deposit or its production characteristics and whether it can be economically extracted.
The appraisal stage will vary from site to site but can take several forms including additional seismic work, longer term flow tests, or the drilling of further wells. For shale gas it would involve hydraulic fracturing followed by flow testing to establish the strength of the resource and its potential productive life.
- Developing a site: when planning permission is required
- Exploration
- Appraisal
- Production/ extraction
- Licences required before fracking can be undertaken
- Licensing organisations
- The Minerals Planning Authority - Nottinghamshire County Council
- Environment Agency (EA)
- Health and Safety Executives (HSE)
- The Environmental Impact Assessment
