Shale gas developer Cuadrilla Resources will start fracking for gas at its Preston New Road site in northwest England next week, the company said on Friday. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves extracting gas from rocks by breaking them up with water and chemicals at high pressure. It was halted in Britain seven years ago after causing earth tremors. But the British government, keen to cut its reliance on imports, which have soared to more than 50 percent of British gas supplies, has tightened regulation of the industry. This year it gave consent for Cuadrilla to start fracking at two wells at Preston New Road. Results from a six-month test period are expected in the first quarter of next year, which Cuadrilla said would provide information on how much gas it could potentially recover. “This will allow us to make an assessment of the commercial viability and […]