 |
|
 |
| |
BARTON MOSS PROTESTS HAVING NEGATIVE AFFECT ON IGAS
|
Star date: 5th March 2014
IGAS SHARES PLUMMET AS DAILY ANTI-FRACKING PROTESTS BITE
Shares in IGas, the company which is carrying out controversial exploratory drilling at Barton Moss, Salford, have plummeted since January, losing over 20% of their value according to latest Stock Exchange valuations.
The company has admitted in confidential documents seen by the Salford Star that `the timescales for the exploratory drilling have been delayed due to the protesters'. The delays will have cost IGas huge amounts of money, apparently reflected in its share value loss.
Full details here… |
click image to enlarge
|
The daily demonstrations by anti-fracking campaigners on Barton Moss Road, which have been designed to delay lorries delivering and leaving the IGas exploratory drilling site, are having a major affect on the costs associated with the project.
When the Salford Star interviewed John Blaymires, Chief Operating Officer of IGas, back in December he said that the exploratory drilling for coal bed methane and possibly shale gas would take between `eight and ten weeks', which would have meant the process would have ended around the end of February.
However, in confidential documents seen by the Salford Star, IGas has admitted that it is well behind schedule. Documents from January reveal "that every vehicle has been delayed in reaching the site due to the actions of the protestors (sic) and that the operation is several weeks behind schedule"; while documents from February "advised that the timescales for the exploratory drilling have been delayed due to the protestors", and that the company wouldn't be off site until "early April".
Some reports insist that the giant drilling rig that has been installed at the far end of Barton Moss Road is costing IGas £25,000 a day to rent, although the Salford Star cannot substantiate this. What is apparently clear is that the protests - which include lock-ons, slow walks and even a wind turbine blade and a big orange bus parked in front of the entrance gates – are having an affect on the profitability of the company.
Yesterday, Frack Free Greater Manchester issued a press release quoting a comment made on the London Stock Exchange website (adoubleuk at 16:16 on Sat)… "Absolutely no way Barton Moss should have taken (is taking) so long to drill. And the delay (about 300%) is down to so-called 'lawful protest'. And such delay is very expensive."
The London Stock Exchange reported a 24% drop in IGas shares until the end of February, wiping hundreds of thousands of pounds off the valaue of the company (see here). Over the last few days, however, its share price has risen by over 3%, probably on the strength of a report by geologists from fellow fracking company Cuadrilla that there might be fifty per cent more shale gas in its licence areas in the North West.
The report was made public at the Shale UK conference. But Lord Oxburgh, former chairman of Shell and a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, warned against any potential fracking gold dust.
"The rate of flow drops by 85% over three years, a conventional well could still be getting high flow rates after 30 years" he explained "There are other limiting factors in the UK, including the size and density of the population. And the process of fracking was extremely noisy. I think it is going to be a limiting factor near towns, these are brutes, these big pumping machines."
Meanwhile, the Fack Free Greater Manchester (FFGM) release quoted Kate Chappell, Executive Member for the Environment for Manchester City Council, who told Shale World that fracking wouldn't be a money spinner in the long term… "I think it will have a short spike and then there will be some environmental problems and some political problems with it and investments will drop" she said "It won't continue as an industry."
Martin Porter of FFGM added: "Investors may not care about Climate Change or the effect on local residents in Eccles, but they do care about their wallets. The evidence is, fracking is a bad investment."
Meanwhile, the protests on Barton Moss Road continue. And Frack Free Greater Manchester is hosting what it hopes will be the biggest anti-fracking demonstration yet seen in the UK this Sunday March 9th in Manchester beginning at noon in Piccadilly Gardens.
Main photo by Jason Smalley
|
|
|
|
Bernard Brough wrote
at 16:14:37 on 11 March 2014 |
|
|
| I made no personal attacks. So you are saying that protest can only take place if the protestors pay for the privilege or you agree with them? |
|
|
?
|
Scott B wrote
at 16:43:20 on 10 March 2014 |
|
|
| Bernard
Personal attacks do you no credit and tend to nullify any pertinent points that you may eventually make.
Every citizen has a right to peaceful protest and I totally agree that is none of my business. However when protests become a full time 'occupation' of some and include 'activities' that require to be 'policed' then I think it's only fair and reasonable it becomes my business since effectively I pay part of that 'policing' service.
|
|
|
?
|
Bernard Brough wrote
at 20:11:12 on 09 March 2014 |
|
|
| Good for you Scot I'm sure your parents are very proud of you. I still do not understand what business is it of yours what others do or do not do. Or are you suggesting that only those of us in employment have any right to protest? Maybe only those of us who own property should vote? Such things are beyond financial consideration. As for irrelevant questions, you started it baby. |
|
|
?
|
Scott B wrote
at 16:47:54 on 09 March 2014 |
|
|
| Bernard
Whether we like it or not there is a financial consequence to this therefore interested to find out what, if anything, these full time camp people contribute to that.
Your questions are irrelevant Bernard. However I will say I do contribute to the UK tax system.
|
|
|
?
|
Bernard Brough wrote
at 20:26:27 on 08 March 2014 |
|
|
| Scot, sorry, but I still don't see what anybody's job/lack of job has to do with anything. What is your hob? How much money do you have in the bank? Do you keep a ferret in the kitchen? Just interested to find out. |
|
|
?
|
Salford Star wrote
at 21:52:47 on 07 March 2014 |
|
|
| See Brian's comment below - `cut and paste journalism'? You cheeky fracker! You might not agree with what the Star publishes but there is no `cut and paste' here. The stuff about the drilling being delayed by protesters is from IGas' own secret statements. |
|
|
?
|
Brian wrote
at 21:45:15 on 07 March 2014 |
|
|
| Hi leedsjon1,
Please only interpret this as me being polite, but you couldn't be more wrong in your interpretation. Logistically when things ordered 2 days before they are needed are delayed by 2 hours, or 4 hours or 8 hours it makes no difference at all. If the protesters knew anything at all about rig operations they could watch the rig all day and night and see that what they were doing wasn't stopping it in any way. As for removal of waste that is not going to stop the drilling operation as again it is not time dependant in that way.
The thing to understand is that the operations rely on key points in the drilling. The rig operates 24/7, but it doesn't require goods in and out 24/7. Certain critical moments require more logistics, but they happen just a few times each well and all of them are planned weeks in advance with short term planning just being a matter of predicting where the operation will be in a couple of days time. Drilling operations are not based on 'just-in-time' logistics. They are easily planned a couple of days in advance. Actually, if you know your stuff you can see where, a couple of times, they have needed things quickly. The protesters have misinterpreted it at each event (typically saying they are 'getting to them', i.e. interpreting things around themselves and not just as events in the drilling operation that require quick deliveries), but those of us with some experience can.
Back with the Caudrilla protests the protesters did delay operations and they did it by invading the site and shutting it down. That did and does work. Delaying lorries does not. I know you have no need to take my word on it, but these protests will at best have delayed the operation by one day, one and half at a stretch - time that can easily be made up through several means in the operation itself, and a time variable easily outweighed by the geology of the well itself, which can easily change the end date of a well by a month.
Hi chat moss resident,
Yep definitely. I know the SS is independent, but it often seems it is independent of science and reason too. There is far too much copy and paste journalism here. This article is a simple example since it is easy for people to check the misquoted figures. Mind you, it is not just figures being misquoted - the entire interpretation of data is off.
@Salford Star.
I know you cannot do it because they are locked up tight and cannot comment, but you might one day find it interesting to find out what the staff on site think and feel, not just the protesters. You might get the whole story then. I guess I am in the rare position of being in contact with some of them and their side of the story adds a whole other dimension to this 'peaceful' protest. I am shocked and alarmed by some of the behaviour I have heard of from some protesters, and of course none of it makes the papers because none of them are free to talk about it and they all fear being stalked or mobbed at home if they go public with what they have gone though when the cameras are not on. |
|
|
?
|
Scott B wrote
at 11:09:33 on 07 March 2014 |
|
|
| Hi Bernard
I agree with you IF how other people spend their time doesn't affect our or our children's future (as Andrea pointed out). So my question ramichs unanswered....is protesting what the people living full time on the camp do for a living/profession/career? Just interested to find out....... |
|
|
?
|
Kenneth w mckelvey wrote
at 07:58:20 on 07 March 2014 |
|
|
| Where do these pro Frackers get the the neck to insinuate that all the anti Frackers on the Moss are all on benefits/ If that were the case should that mean that people who are out of work have no right of protest/ These are typical stereo remarks of some of these I have got a job Brigade and all the 3.5 million on the Dole are Lazy Scrounging Bastards/ After the last Tory Govt Closed Irlam Steel/ Salford Docks/Agecroft Pit/ Mather and Platts / Gardeners/And the Biggest Industrial Complex in Europe Trafford Park/ETC The People of Greater Manchester have been hit the hardest with unemployment and so some people still find it hard
very hard to find employment.
to get work/ So to the nondescripts who keep insinuating Please
remember that the unemployed are not Criminals and have the same rights as every on else in this one time Democratic Country.
unemployed are not Criminals and have the same rights as you |
|
|
?
|
a wrote
at 06:05:32 on 07 March 2014 |
|
|
| There is no iGas security,it is GMP,our law enforcement(lol)organisation providing security and totally ignoring the rights of our citizens in doing so!And its us footing the bill.. |
|
|
?
|
Bernard Brough wrote
at 05:56:51 on 07 March 2014 |
|
|
| Scott B, what has it got to do with you how other people spend their time? |
|
|
?
|
Scott B wrote
at 05:56:43 on 07 March 2014 |
|
|
| Thanks Alice that's interesting. So the people full time in camp. Is protesting what they do for a living? Can I also respectfully ask by which means are they protecting your and your children's futures? |
|
|
?
|
Andrea B wrote
at 20:42:19 on 06 March 2014 |
|
|
| In answer to your respectful question scottB. There are many different people from all walks of life attending Barton Moss to express their rights to a peaceful protest in disagreement with the shale gas industry. I have encountered young mums who are there between school runs, Youth workers and Catering assistants to name but a few. Some work shifts, some take annual leave and some like myself - a library assistant working alternate Saturdays with Fridays off - go along at any opportunity they can to support those who are enduring the harsh conditions and realities of living fulltime on camp to safeguard mine and my child's futures. I cannot thank them enough for their hard work and endurance. |
|
|
?
|
Scott B wrote
at 18:36:52 on 06 March 2014 |
|
|
| May I respectfully ask how the protesters manage to take the time be at Barton Moss and any other sites? Apart from the retired grandmothers that have been mentioned do the others take holidays from their day jobs? |
|
|
?
|
Martin Shaw wrote
at 18:36:49 on 06 March 2014 |
|
|
| I think I remember Cuadrilla saying at the court case when people occupied their drilling rig for a day back in 2011 that it cost them £40,000 for half a day of drilling.
By that estimate it is costing igas millions to be delayed by several weeks! |
|
|
?
|
leedsjon1 wrote
at 18:35:59 on 06 March 2014 |
|
|
| Brian - if it is the lorry drivers that are being delayed and not the rig, surely this is a serious problem? I think you may have forgotten the fact that the full fracking process will require 2 separate lorry journeys to function properly - 1 to bring in materials and a second one to take waste materials out again. So if the lorry journeys are being delayed, this will affect the whole fracking operation in 2 separate ways - once by delaying the delivery of essential materials to allow the fracking to take place and then a second time when they will be delayed in getting waste materials (many of which will be toxic and hazardous to human health don't forget)out again. Overall, this is likely to result in the whole operation being seriously delayed and ultimately abondoned - which may not be a bad thing in the long term. |
|
|
?
|
Alice Searle wrote
at 12:48:38 on 06 March 2014 |
|
|
| I have been reading with interest all the reports in Salford Star on the Fracking Protectors and the GMP Tactical Unit.
Firstly, I must say the reporting has been of very high standard worthy of any international paper. I am angry that the issue of Fracking, which is of intense interest and public concern, has not been investigated and discussed in the national press and only touched on briefly in the Radio and TV news. The Star is being read on this issue around the world. I have had comments from my journalist friend in New York on this debacle and yet it is being almost ignored in our media. I am suspicious and suggest there has been a decision from 'on high' that the subject should not be aired. After all, there is money involved and, as we know, that corrupts.
The Police Force, which we pay for, is being used to protect a private company and the people's rights are being abused. That is a separate issue from the fracking and as such requires a separate investigation. There are two very important matters here and we must not confuse the two. Both must be investigated.
Secondly, why is it that, when representatives from the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights [a committee of the Human Rights Council,] can visit the Barton Moss site,our representatives..the City Council and the Mayor... cannot show their faces. Is this shame? Is this fear? Or is it all to do with money..again! Your role requires you to see that the citizens you represent are being treated with respect and justice. You cannot come to any objective opinion until you educate yourself from all points of view. Get down there, listen and look and remember why you have been voted into the role you hold. |
|
|
?
|
bob wrote
at 12:48:16 on 06 March 2014 |
|
|
| if its close to going bust, could a few well directed court cases be enough to send it over the edge ? Also the haulages companies should also be targeted for their part in all this, maybe go to their head offices and take the issue to them. |
|
|
?
|
michael wrote
at 12:47:59 on 06 March 2014 |
|
|
|
I think your reporting that 20% has been wiped off IGas' market capitalisation is a bit misleading and fails to put the share price movement into context. Yesterday shares closed at 124.75p, admittedly down considerably from their peak of 160.25p on 20 January. However that high was the result of a fairly sudden spike on the back of a rally in the previous week. On January 9 the price was 107p, lower than today's price; and in the preceding five month it had never risen higher than 115p. In any case, equity (i.e. listed company share) prices often can be quite volatile in the short-term: most investors are looking for gains in the long run. http://tinyurl.com/oghm8v6
Slightly disappointing reporting compared with your usual excellent fare! Anyway keep up the otherwise great coverage of events at Barton Moss. Good luck to all the protestors!
|
|
|
?
|
chat moss resident wrote
at 12:47:53 on 06 March 2014 |
|
|
| You are completely correct Brian. If you had bought shares in iGas on the day the Barton Moss drilling was announced you would have paid 66p this morning you could get 124p ,not exactly a company in freefall. Company assetts are listed as 250 million pounds and analysts advise them as one of the strongest buys in the market. Incidentally shale gas exploration accounts for less than 5% of the companies business. It appears the Salford Star has just become a vehicle for repeating posts on anti fracking websites. |
|
|
?
|
Cbp wrote
at 07:37:40 on 06 March 2014 |
|
|
| IGas is borrowing heavily and relying on its assets as a guarentee. The problem is the assets are now worth alot less than its loans and liabilities. If you credit check IGas you will see that they have been walking a very thin line since 2010 and have a dire credit rating. Unless it finds a buyer pretty soon it will probably go bust. |
|
|
?
|
Richard Ford wrote
at 07:37:33 on 06 March 2014 |
|
|
| How very sad that a company sees money and profits as more important than people. The United States of America have seen a huge increase in the release of methane through aquifers and the water supply as a direct result of fracking. There has also been an increase in the presence of heavy metals and radioactive materials pollution where the process has taken place. Where fracking is taking place there have been increases in earthquakes and a sharp decrease in the air quality as well as an increase in noise pollution.
The gas and oil containing shale has been in the earth for many millions of years, surely a delay of a few more months, whilst real unbiased scientific analysis can be made of the possible hazards are investigated and recorded is not too much to ask? Cameron and co seem hell bent upon rushing this whole process forward, and one has to suspect their reasons for doing so, and I'd be willing to wager a years pension that their reasons are not wholesome ones. |
|
|
?
|
Frances Leader wrote
at 07:37:25 on 06 March 2014 |
|
|
| Thanks again for a thoroughly well researched piece of real journalism! Don't forget to come and support us at the High Court in Manchester tomorrow! You will be gladly received by the Protectors!
Kindest regards & best wishes! |
|
|
?
|
Carol Gilmour wrote
at 07:36:56 on 06 March 2014 |
|
|
| great result! Well done everybody |
|
|
?
|
Brian wrote
at 07:36:30 on 06 March 2014 |
|
|
| This is an exceptionally poorly researched article.
Bloomin eck Salford Star, just click that one button to expand the scale on the share price graph. It isn't hard. Its just one button!! You can see that the protests have had zero affect on the share price. What you are report is that the share price jumped suddenly early Jan off the back of the Total investment and has been re-normalising back to its base value ever since.
The protests delayed the start date of the well, but there is little evidence that they have delayed things since then. Nor is there any reason to think that they should have. If you were organising a project where lorries were delayed every day then wouldn't you just order everything the day before?
The response to the ongoing projects is simply to build the sites a little bigger and store more on site while planning your logistics a day early.
The timescales for overall drilling programs have been amended due to challenges to planning applications and the well start dates. I see no reason to believe that the actual drilling operations are even one day behind due to the protests.
However, the tactics of the protesters will become less affective over time as planning is streamlined and the companies become more effective in response to legal challenges etc. If the legal challenges do not win then everyone will just get better at predicting and dealing with them.
I firmly believe that the easy ride for the protesters given to them by Caudrilla is almost over. From what I have seen IGas's security has been almost infinitely better with the only affect being delayed lorries, however that is only a delay to the lorry drivers, not the rig site. |
|
|
?
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
.jpg)
advertisement
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
Hi Paul I hope you are well, please can you tell me how much it would be to have the George Best Mosaic made? Indeed if you are st... [more] |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am Marjorie Goodwin's grandson. I still have that battered tobacco tin. I don't know what happened to the silver one!
... [more] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I parked here with a disability badge and my back tyre was slightly over line as I suffer with coordination and it says if I appea... [more] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4 North Johnson Street, Salford.
My Great Grandfather was the son of Household James Rowlands 68. x2. His wife Frances Rowlands... [more] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
lived for many years as a kid in Murray st. Hilda who was mum to John would visit my grandmother and would tell us about what john... [more] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Days |
Hours |
Minutes |
Seconds |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Help the Salford Star...
all donations welcome
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.jpg)
.jpg)
(3).jpeg)
.png)
(1).JPG)
