HANNAH BRYAN puts on her hard hat and takes a tour with Third Energy UK, the gas company applying for a licence to frack at a site near the Flamingo Land theme park at Kirby Misperton.

THIRD ENERGY is a company undergoing an important change.

Similar to other companies trying to survive in a tough economic climate Third Energy UK Gas Limited has had to make a change in direction after rock samples from procedural drilling did not yield the results they wanted.

Drilling samples from Third Energy’s well site at Kirby Misperton, known as KM8, have been analysed by experts all over the world since they were taken over a year ago.

However, the results showed that the rock formation could not produce conventional gas, which the company has been producing in the area for more than 20 years.

John Dewar, Third Energy operations director, said that the results had been “disappointing.”

He said: “We drilled KM8 with multiple objectives. We really wanted the well to produce conventional gas but the results from the samples were disappointing. The company is facing a change in direction.

“In 2011 we took over the company from Viking Gas but the company was struggling financially. We were able to invest, drill more wells and look for more gas.

“Everything we did then was purely for conventional gas. All of our efforts have been very hard and we have not been able to turn it around as much as we had hoped.”

The results of the KM8 samples marked a turning point for the company as they showed that the rock deeper within the formation had produced better results than the rock closer to the surface.

Five zones have now been identified in the KM8 rock formation which will be hydraulically fracked in order to test flow the well to see if gas can be produced on a commercial basis.

Although the company has produced 30 billion cubic feet of gas and two million megawatt hours of electricity, this will be only the second time fracking has been used over the past 20 years for Third Energy.

Concerns have been wide ranging from transport worries to fears of water contamination but Mr Dewar said that he is confident that Third Energy can “do it without anyone noticing.”

Extensive plans and research has been completed right down to the sound levels local residents may hear if drilling permission is granted.

Mr Dewar said: “Our aim is to do this safely, cleanly and quietly as we have done with everything else.

“In 1985 when we started drilling we had the same level of complaints then that we do now.

“20 years on they realise that they had nothing to worry about.”

The process itself, if planning permission is granted, will take a total of eight weeks; two to prepare the well and six weeks to fracture the wells which will be drilled over a couple of hours each day.

Water will be sent to the site via underground pipelines from the Knapton Generating Station before being sent back to Knapton where trucks will remove it and dispose of it correctly.

Third Energy is aiming to use a maximum of 4,000 cubic metres of water but hopes to use less and has plans to recycle the water. This means that only waste water from the last fracture will need to be sent for safe disposal.

Many objectors to the controversial process have expressed concerns regarding water contamination. Third Energy says that this is “extremely unlikely” as layers of equipment would need to fail before the water becomes contaminated. Even if it were to fail, Mr Dewar said that drinking a litre of the water would contain the same amount of radiation as one X-ray at the dentist or eating between 20 and 30 Brazil nuts in one sitting.

A total of eight chemicals, including potassium chloride, sulphuric acid and aluminium sulphate will be used in the process.

Mentions of potentially carcinogenic chemicals from fracking in the US are not a worry here either, according to Third Energy as the Environment Agency must approve all of the chemicals used before the process can be approved.

The Government has also imposed a rule whereby gas companies which are fracking must use a "traffic light" system to monitor seismic activity. If the Richter scale rates move above 0.5, then drilling must stop.

Third Energy will also be ensuring that trucks driving to the site do not drive above 20mph and keep noise to a minimum, with no revving.

Mr Dewar said: “We have learned that we need to listen to the public. We will be asking residents when the best time would be for the trucks to go through the village.”

In the two-week preparation stage, a total of 52 trucks on site would be needed and 48 off, while 103 would be needed on site during the fracking process and 63 trucks off.

A series of extensive public consultations are being organised ahead of a planning application being submitted and Third Energy is asking anyone who wants to voice their concerns and listen to the plans to get in touch.

As the company works on this change of direction, it will eventually submit a planning application to begin the fracturing of the rock and if the test flow goes well, a further three to four wells could be drilled in the future.