The unfolding scandal of Rathlin breaking their promise not to frack was reported, somewhat tamely, on Look North (Yorkshire and Lincolnshire) this evening. They have mainly presented Rathlin's misleading spin that the Environment Agency Permit Applications do not invlove fracking.
To be clear: our line is that Rathlin's Applications ARE to frack.
We believe a minifrac is a form of fracking. It's injecting liquid into shale rock to create a small fracture and see what happens. What is that if not fracking? (an industry definition)
A minifrac is a precursor to full scale fracking, for commercial extraction.
Irritatingly, in the moment of the interview recording I omitted the essential words full scale, giving the incorrect impression that a minfrac is not itself fracking.
Rathlin have tried to disguise the minfrac in the Applications by calling it a 'mini fall off test'. In the industry this is also known as a mini frac.
It's interesting to see how the media works. My 2 or 3 minute interview was pretty concise, but explained oil company extremes, Rathlin's deceit, aquifer contamination risks and other concerns...
15 secs got used, clipped mid sentence. Lesson? Soundbites.
We were expecting a more in depth piece on the Monday, but apparently it wasn't news by then.
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