There is a long history of fracking in this country, but utilising explosives rather than hydraulic fracturing
Sir, Dr Jones (letter, Dec 18) referred to the long history of fracking. In Britain the earliest recorded use of fracking of petroleum wells was not by hydraulic fracturing but by the use of explosives.
The Government had funded a systematic search for oil, and this involved drilling wells in the Chesterfield area starting in late 1918. In at least two wells nitroglycerine was used to increase the flow of oil or gas. The carriage of nitroglycerine by road at the time was prohibited. The contractors were not to be deterred. They took dynamite to the site and washed out