EMEA News
Shale Gas Boom Could be Heading to the UK
A UK energy company says there may be as much as 170 trillion cubic feet of gas in the part of northern England it has licences to explore, nearly 20 times more than it originally estimated, the BBC reports.
IGas had previously estimated the gas at about nine trillion cubic feet, but it now says the amount could be between 15.1 trillion and 172.3 trillion cubic feet.
It is unclear how much of the gas can be extracted economically, and there are also environmental concerns about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the process used to release the gas.
Nevertheless, supporters believe it could play a key role in future UK energy supplies.
The UK's annual gas consumption is now about 3 trillion cubic feet, and nations with a glut of gas are particularly of interest to players in the bunker industry as many see liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel of the future.
"The licences have a very significant shale gas resource with the potential to transform the company and materially benefit the communities in which we operate," said IGas chief executive Andrew Austin.
"Our estimates for our area alone could mean that the UK would not have to import gas for a period of 10 to 15 years."
Another energy firm, Cuadrilla, which has wells in Lancashire, says 200 trillion cubic feet of gas are in its licence area of the Bowland Shale, which suggests the entire region could have 400 to 500 trillion cubic feet altogether.
UK Chancellor George Osborne said earlier this year that the country will push for the extraction of shale gas, while the European Commission (EC) has called for LNG bunkering across Europe.
