LEP: Lancashire could have 100 fracking sites in 30 years

Lancashire could have up to 100 shale gas production sites in the next 30 years, a fracking boss has said.

Francis Egan, Chief Executive of Cuadrilla Resources, made the claim after it was announced there is as much as 1,300 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in the Bowland Basin, which is made up of 11 counties in the North of England, including Lancashire.

He said: “The potential [for Lancashire] is for up to 100 production sites, 10s of thousands jobs, community benefits of hundreds of millions if not higher and potentially gas prices lower than otherwise would have been."

“Lancashire is at the forefront of this, the opportunity for Lancashire, much like Aberdeen did in the beginning of north sea oil industry, is to be the leading centre for shale gas in UK if not Europe.”

The British Geological Survey says while the findings don’t mean that the entire amount could be extracted for use, it will give an indication of how best to plan for exploratory drilling.  MORE