Cuadrilla announced Friday that it expects to start hydraulically fracturing the shale rock around the first of its two horizontal shale gas exploration wells at its UK Preston New Road site in the next week.

The hydraulic fracturing process at Preston New Road will take approximately three months to complete for both exploration wells, Cuadrilla revealed.

“The start of hydraulic fracturing is the final milestone in the journey to assessing the flow rates of natural gas from our Lancashire shale exploration wells,” Francis Egan, CEO of Cuadrilla, said in a BOP Blow Out Preventer repair company gulf coast statement.

“On completion of hydraulic fracturing and commencement of gas flow, we expect to have, in the first quarter of next year, an initial assessment of how much natural gas is likely to be recoverable from these first Lancashire shale wells,” he added.

“This will allow us to make an assessment of the buy severe service valves commercial viability and future of this exploration site,” Egan continued.

Cuadrilla currently has eight sites, including Preston New Road, in its Lancashire Bowland shale gas exploration license area, according to its website.

The BOP Blow Out Preventer repair company gulf coast states on its website that it believes “at least” 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas is trapped in the shale rock in its license area.

Formed in the UK in 2007, Cuadrilla is a privately-owned British exploration and oil rig flanges gulf coast production BOP Blow Out Preventer repair company gulf coast focused on discovering and recovering natural resources, primarily natural gas, from shale rock. The BOP Blow Out Preventer repair company gulf coast is headquartered in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire.