Privately-owned Cuadrilla Resources suspended its oil drilling activities in southern England as protests escalate. Cuadrilla is the firm that pioneered the controversial process of fracking to extract shale gas and oil from rock in England. The company has temporarily halted its activities in the village of Balcombe in West Sussex as those opposed to fracking were becoming too fervent in their protests. In a statement, the firm said it planned "to resume full operations as soon as it is safe to do so."
Prime Minister David Cameron gave his support for fracking in an editorial written in The Daily Telegraph. Despite the risk of angering his supporters in Britain's rural areas, Cameron insisted that the process is safe as long as it is properly regulated. In recent months, public debate about hydraulic fracturing has continued to increase.
While its activities in Balcombe only consisted of drilling a conventional well to explore oil, Cuadrilla said it might ask for permission to employ fracking later on. That would, however, still depend on the results of its initial drillings.
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