Cuadrilla is to plug and abandon two shale gas wells in Lancashire following orders from the government’s industry regulator, it confirmed in a statement.

Cuadrilla’s parent company AJ Lucas said the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) had ordered it to permanently seal the two shale gas wells drilled at the Preston New Road (PNR) Lancashire shale exploration site.

It will soon start plugging the wells with cement and removing pipework and valves from the site.

Cuadrilla claims shale gas from the North of England has the potential to meet the UK’s energy needs and alleviate the cost of living crisis, as well as create jobs and aid levelling up.

Analysts and green campaigners say because gas is globally traded, meaning it is sold to the highest bidder, it is unlikely to help the UK.

Cuadrilla’s chief executive officer, Francis Egan, said he thought the decision had not “been properly thought through”.

“Leaving our own shale gas in the ground will make reducing global emissions even harder,” he said. “Emissions from importing gas are far higher than those from home-produced shale gas.”

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Green groups warn the UK should avoid “lock-in” to burning the climate-heating fossil fuel and accelerate the shift to domestic renewable energy.

Sam Hall, director of the Conservative Environment Network group of 123 MPs said: “The government expended significant political capital and taxpayers’ money trying to kick-start fracking in the UK, but the industry couldn’t win communities’ support or frack without causing tremors.

He said fracked gas has limited potential to reduce energy bills due to our population density and pipelines to the European gas market.

“The UK government is right to focus on expanding domestic clean energy and reducing gas demand as the route out of the current energy bill crisis,” added Mr Hall.

The wells have remained unused since 2019 when the government imposed a moratorium on fracking over concerns about tremors.

They took the decision “on the basis of the disturbance caused to residents living near Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site in Lancashire”.

An OGA report had found that it was not currently possible to accurately predict the probability or magnitude of earthquakes linked to fracking operations.

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