AN AMERICAN oil exploration company has refused to rule out the possibility of fracking in the south of Mole Valley.
Magellan Petroleum owns two drilling licences which cover a large area in Surrey, including Leigh and Charlwood, and was contacted by the Advertiser in light of the troubles faced by exploratory oil drilling by Cuadrilla, at Balcombe, in West Sussex.
Anti-fracking campaigners argue the process causes huge environmental damage and fear it will happen in Balcombe and could come to Surrey, where drilling licences covering large chunks of land, and held by a number of firms, are in place. All need extra permission to frack.
The Advertiser asked these companies about their plans, which included Magellan Petroleum. All responded saying they "currently" do not have plans to commence fracking, although not all would rule it out in the future.
On its website, Magellan Petroleum states: "Recent discoveries aided by advances in technology indicate the potential for a significant new resource play onshore UK. Magellan has assembled a large acreage position in southern England to capitalize [sic] on these emerging trends."
But speaking from Denver, a spokesman added: "We haven't disclosed any plans or intentions with those licences.
"Because we are a public company we can only say what we fully intend to do. Since we don't have any affirmed plans for those licences, we are not in a position to comment."
He added: "We may be in the middle of making plans but until they are firm we are not able to publicly comment."
The chief executive of Europa Oil and Gas, which last month won a High Court appeal for an exploratory drill on Leith Hill, said that was their only prospect within the licence area.
"[Holmwood] is a conventional oil and gas prospect," said chief executive Hugh Mackay. "We are not a fracking company, we are a conventional oil and gas company. There is no intention to frack it now or in the future."
Further afield IGas, which plans to drill an exploratory well for fracking in the north west this year, holds three licences covering South Nutfield, Godstone and Oxted.
Spokeswoman Georgina Gilbert said: "IGas has no current or short-term plans to explore for shale in the South of England.
"We do plan to drill an exploratory well in the North West before the end of the year – this well is to determine what is below the ground and to confirm the resource. Post the drilling, the rig will be released from the site and the data will be analysed.
"Should the data suggest a significant resource, IGas will consult with the local communities about future plans and subsequently seek further planning consents for the next phase of work."
And Cuadrilla, which prides itself on "unconventional exploration" in the UK, also holds three other licences in East Surrey, in the Lingfield area.
But spokeswoman Lindsay McCallum said Cuadrilla "currently has no intention to undertake exploratory drilling anywhere other than at the Balcombe well".
The firms' response came as two Surrey MPs said fracking should be tolerated for the good of the nation.
Sir Paul Beresford, MP for Mole Valley, said: "Done properly, with the appropriate precautions etc, it is an extremely successful method of producing oil and gas that we wouldn't otherwise have reached.
"This must be for the benefit of a country that is rapidly running out of its oil and gas resources and relying on countries outside, some of which are not necessarily stably in favour of the United Kingdom.
"That said, we have to go through all the same environmental procedures that we would as if they were just drilling."
Epsom and Ewell MP Chris Grayling added: "At a time when we have pensioners struggling to pay high gas bills, we cannot simply ignore a new source of energy which is already tried and tested in other parts of the world."
