LONDON — A mining company has halted drilling for shale gas in England after scientists said two small earthquakes might be linked to the controversial process, known as “fracking.”
The decision by Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. heightened European environmentalists’ concerns about a process that has been promoted as an untapped source of energy but criticized by opponents as dirty and disruptive.
The British Geological Survey recorded a 1.5-magnitude quake Friday near Blackpool in northwestern England, within 1.2 miles of the gas well. A 2.3-magnitude quake was recorded nearby in April.
The geological survey’s head of seismology, Brian Baptie, said Tuesday that the two quakes appeared to have “a similar location and mechanism.” Cuadrilla Resources said it had stopped hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — the process of extracting gas by pummeling rocks deep underground with high-pressure water, sand and chemicals — while it studied data from the quakes and consulted with experts.
It is not the first time fracking has been linked to seismic activity. Scientists are studying whether more than 1,000 small earthquakes in Arkansas are connected to shale-gas exploration.
