The company spearheading Britain's stalled fracking industry has been thrown a lifeline by the UK Government.
The move is reported by the Telegraph to be the clearest sign yet that ministers are rethinking their stance on shale gas.
Cuadrilla Resources said yesterday it had been formally advised by the North Sea Transition Authority that it was withdrawing the notice it had previously issued requiring the firm to plug and abandon the two shale gas exploration wells drilled at its Lancashire site.
The wells were due to be sealed by the end of this June, but will instead be temporarily plugged and suspended until at least the end of June 2023.
Cuadrilla plans to use this suspension period to evaluate the productive options for these wells.
Chief executive Francis Egan said: "I am delighted that the regulator has taken the sensible decision not to abandon the UK's only two viable shale gas wells at this time of soaring gas prices.
"It is widely acknowledged that natural gas will continue to play a key role in UK energy supply for many decades to come, even as the country transitions to a net zero CO2 economy.
"We remain convinced that the Bowland shale gas resource has the potential to be a very significant contributor to UK energy supply and in particular a source of cost-effective fuel for heating UK homes and businesses."
Mr Egan added that, given the rapid decline in indigenous North Sea gas production and the ongoing UK gas price and supply crises, his company considers that the billions of pounds being spent annually on importing expensive gas from the Middle East, the US and elsewhere might be better directed, in part at least, on developing what is recognised to be a substantial domestic shale gas resource.
The CEO went on: "Developing the UK's domestic gas resource onshore would help provide energy security, create a significant number of new jobs in the north of England and provide substantial tax revenues. The Government should now urgently reverse its decision to impose a moratorium on shale gas."
However, the North Sea Transition Authority has said that "if no credible re-use plans" are in place for the Lancashire site by June next year it expects to reimpose decommissioning requirements.
Companies reporting today
- Trading statement: Pennon