Shale gas firm IGas reveals much bigger reserve

SHALE gas developer IGas Energy says it will begin drilling in the North West  later this year.

The listed company confirmed its intention for Q4 this year as it said research has shown it  may be sitting on significantly more gas than previously thought.

IGas says there may be up to 170 trillion cubic feet of gas in the areas it is licensed to explore.

The company’s licences cover an area of 300 sq miles across Ince Marshes in Cheshire.
It had previously said it had about nine trillion cubic feet of shale gas. It now estimates that the volume of “gas initially in place” could range from 15.1 trillion cubic feet to 172.3 trillion cubic feet – nearly 20 times more.

In a stock market announcement the firm said the “most likely” size of the resource is 102 trillion cubic feet.

IGas chief executive Andrew Austin said: “The announcement of the gas in place volumes of up to 170 trillion cubic feet supports our view that these licences have a very significant shale gas resource with the potential to transform the company and materially benefit the communities in which we operate.

“The planned drilling programme, commencing later this year, will further refine these estimates and advance our understanding of this shale basin.”

Shale gas is extracted by a controversial process called fracking, whereby water and sand are pumped  at high pressure into rock to release gas within it. Critics say it may cause earth tremors –  there was such after drilling on the Fylde coast in Lancashire two years ago.

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