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Written question asked by Greg Knight (Conservative) on Tuesday, 27 June 2017, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 5 July 2017 (named day). It was answered by Lord Harrington of Watford (Conservative) on Wednesday, 5 July 2017 on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Fracking: Wells

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that future maintenance liabilities for abandoned or exhausted shale gas wells remain the responsibility of the operator of that well.

Answer

Each licensee (and there may be more than one for each licence) is responsible for the well. When operations finish, the licensees are responsible for safe decommissioning of the well(s) and for restoring the well-site to its previous state or a suitable condition for re-use.

The central aim of the regulatory framework is to ensure wells are made safe so that they can be decommissioned with no need for on-going attention. The Health and Safety Executive scrutinises the plans for the well at the outset, including the plans for decommissioning and the operator reports to them during the decommissioning process.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
1443
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Repairs and maintenance Wells Fracking
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk