Company confirms no fracking has yet taken place at Kirby Misperton

A gas-exploration company is still awaiting the go-ahead to frack at its site in Ryedale - and has assured nearby residents that no fracking has yet taken place.
The Third Energy site at Kirby MispertonThe Third Energy site at Kirby Misperton
The Third Energy site at Kirby Misperton

Third Energy is awaiting the go-ahead from the government to begin fracking at Kirby Misperton, near Pickering.

Fracking is the controversial process of drilling down to the earth's shale layer and then drilling horizontally and blasting down a mixture of water, sand and chemicals at high pressure to fracture the rock and release natural gas.

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A report in The Scarborough News and Malton & Pickering Mercury incorrectly stated that test fracks had already taken place at the KM8 site. The newspapers apologise for the error.

A Third Energy spokesman said: "In November 2017, the Malton & Pickering Mercury, part of The Scarborough News, requested Third Energy to write an op-ed on its planned hydraulic fracturing programme in Ryedale. However, the Scarborough News made an edit to the text, creating a significant inaccuracy, before publication on 18 January 2018.

"This was done without Third Energy’s knowledge and is especially disappointing as the text carried the by-line of Alan Linn, a Third Energy director.

"For the record, Third Energy confirms that no test hydraulic fractures have taken place at Kirby Misperton. Third Energy has followed the regulatory regime for associated hydraulic fracturing as required by the Infrastructure Act of 2015. The company has all the required approvals from the regulators for associated hydraulic fracturing and we await the Secretary of State's consent before hydraulic fracturing can begin.”