York Moors and in 1938 gas was discovered in a deeper second well. There was much oil and gas exploration in the Vale of Pickering during the 1970s and 1980s. A significant number of seismic surveys were shot and several fields were discovered, some of which are still in production today. During the 1980s the fields of Kirby Misperton and Marishes were discovered. Well KM-1 was drilled in March 1985 and found gas at two levels. Since 2000 eleven new wells have been drilled in North Yorkshire with drilling at Ebberston, Marishes, Pickering and Kirby Misperton. Third Energy Onshore drilled the KM8 well (located about 500m WSW of the village of Kirby Misperton), within the Kirby Misperton gas field, during 2013. Samples were taken at several different depths to assess the hydrocarbon potential. Analysis of the gas bearing zones in the deeper Bowland section concluded that they should be appraised further. To assess their commercial potential, Third Energy applied for a hydraulic fracturing permit to stimulate gas flow from these inter-bedded sandstone and shale sections. The planning application C3/15/00971/CPO (NY/2015/0233/ENV) submitted to North Yorkshire County Council in 2015 for the proposed hydraulic fracturing operation was approved by the Planning Committee on 23 May 2016; Friends of the Earth and a local pressure group, Frack Free Ryedale, applied for judicial review of the decision, but this application was rejected in December 2016. In October 2017, Third Energy Onshore announced its intention to begin fracking within weeks. 2018 fracking suspension In November 2017, opponents to the fracking operation called upon Third Energy to confirm its financial standing before commencing work; the company was over a month late in filing its accounts (which were eventually filed on 1 February 2018). In January 2018, Business Secretary Greg Clark said permission for Third Energy to frack would not be granted until financial checks had been completed by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, amid concerns about its resilience and ability to fund clean-up costs. The 2016 accounts of its wholly owned subsidiary Third Energy UK Gas Ltd showed it made a £3.4 million loss (down from a £3.85 million loss in 2015), but owed £44.7 million to its ultimate parent company, Third Energy Holdings, based in the Cayman Islands. Third Energy began removing equipment from the site in early February 2018, as questions about the company's finances and management continued, including about the September 2017 appointments