5th Mar 2014 06:57
LONDON (Alliance News) - Energy firm Cuadrilla Resources Ltd has announced that tests at its shale gas resource in the North West of England may have increased the resource by over 50%, according to the BBC on Wednesday.
A geologist with Cuadrilla has increased the estimates of gas in place at the company's licence area to 330 trillion cubic feet compared from 200 trillion cubic feet after the company fracked two wells in 2011.
The company said the estimate was based on new seismic and well data but it could take two years to test the commercial viability of the increased resource.
The British Geological Survey estimates that there is around 1,300 trillion cubic feet of gas in the entire Bowland basin region in the North West of England.
In 2013, Cuadrilla sold to Centrica PLC, the company which owns British Gas, a 25% stake in its Bowland exploration licence.
A range of other companies are showing interests in fracking in the UK and have acquired sites, including Total SA, Egdon Resources, Igas Energy, Dart Energy and eCorp Oil & Gas.
Hydraulic fracturing, otherwise known as fracking, involves extracting gas trapped in shale by pumping in pressurised water and chemicals.
In the US, fuel prices have falling sharply as fracking has become commonplace across such states as North Dakota and Mississippi.
However, so far in Europe fracking has had mixed results - often being either controversial or unreliable. In the UK, there have been major protests against the method, which critics fear will pollute water tables in rural areas and may cause small earthquakes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26440101
By Tom McIvor; [email protected]; @TomMcIvor1
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