CONTRACTORS' equipment is being moved from Third Energy’s fracking site while the Government investigates whether it is financially viable.

The Ryedale company says it has agreed to allow companies to move some equipment to other projects while it meets the requirements of the review.

Work on shale gas extraction at the Kirby Misperton site had been expected to begin before Christmas, but Third Energy had been waiting for the Secretary of State’s final approval of its fracking plan. Questions were also raised when the company failed to file its 2016 accounts by the deadline on September 30, 2017. The accounts were filed recently, on February 1.

Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy has confirmed the company has met all 13 technical requirements to begin fracking, but has asked the Oil and Gas Authority to work with the Infrastructure and Projects Authority to undertake a review of Third Energy’s financial resilience. It includes the cost of the eventual decommissioning of the site.

Third Energy says it has agreed to release some of the relevant contractors’ equipment from the site while the review is ongoing.

A spokesman for the company said: “We will be providing the information required for this review to be completed. This means that there will be a further period before we can expect final consent from the Government to proceed with our operations.

“As this process may take some time we have agreed with the relevant contractors to release some of their equipment from site; namely the coil tubing unit, the well control unit and the workover rig. This will allow our contractors to deploy their equipment to other projects during the financial review. We will maintain the majority of the operational equipment onsite and continue all of the monitoring requirements set by the regulators.

“We have informed North Yorkshire County Council and the Police about the planned movements and will be working with them to ensure they are undertaken safely and without disruption to residents.”

Those campaigning against fracking said the development raised questions about the viability of the industry.

Friends of the Earth fracking campaigner Rose Dickinson said: "This welcome news is a further blow to the fracking industry, and a major boost for everyone working to prevent fracking in Ryedale.

“Third Energy is now facing an in-depth government investigation into its financial health.

“Whilst fracking has failed to deliver for the last six and a half years, renewable energy has gone from providing a tenth of our electricity to supplying a third of it.

“The government should finally pull the plug on fracking: It makes no sense for our environment, our climate or our energy needs."