LONDON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- British energy company IGas said Monday its operations at a drilling site in Manchester, England, were not affected by the activity of environmental activists.
The company issued a statement to the Guardian newspaper saying it was "business as usual" at the Barton Moss site.
Activists protested the extraction of oil by hydraulic fracturing, a controversial drilling practice also known as fracking.
Fracking uses large quantities of water mixed with sand and chemicals to extract oil and natural gas from shale formations. Critics say some of those chemicals may contaminate drinking water supplies.
The newspaper said protesters scuffled with police at the drilling site last week.
More than 100 people were arrested on various charges during summer protests at a Cuadrilla Resources drilling site in Balcombe, a village in southern England.
