This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Fracking has stopped again at a shale gas well near Blackpool after the area was struck by the most powerful earthquake since operations began.

A total of 27 minor earthquakes have occurred near energy company Cuadrilla’s site since fracking started a fortnight ago.

The 1.1-magnitude tremor on Monday morning was the biggest so far and the second to have breached the regulatory threshold which forces operators to stop fracking.

Anything greater than a 0.5-magnitude quake requires companies to stop injecting the water used to fracture shale rock and release the gas within.

Cuadrilla confirmed that the event, which was centred 2km underground, occurred while it was fracking at the Preston New Road site. The company said fracking would cease for 18 hours before it restarted.

While the tremors are far below anything that could be felt at the surface and are unlikely to threaten the integrity of the well, the stop-start of operations will cost Cuadrilla financially. Lawyers for the firm have said every day of delay costs £94,000.