In the latest move to open the well, chemicals and energy company Ineos have offered to drill the shale gas test site in a bid to show that fracking extraction for gas can be safe.
It comes after the Government published its energy strategy which focuses on securing UK energy supplies, as western countries consider how to reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas.
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Just a few months ago, more than a decade of efforts to develop fracking for shale gas seemed to be over as authorities ordered the sealing of the only two horizontal drilled wells in Lancashire. Photo: Christopher Furlong
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But with the energy crisis, there has been pressure to look again at the controversial gas source, and the order to permanently seal the wells has been suspended. Photo: Christopher Furlong
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The Government has also commissioned a review into the science around fracking, which could pave the way to lifting the current moratorium on the process brought in over the tremors it caused. Photo: Christopher Furlong
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But Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has warned fracking would take years of exploration and development to produce commercial levels of gas. Photo: Christopher Furlong