IGas ‘world class shale gas could supply 3m homes’

IGas Energy plc said five years’ data demonstrated that the company held world class assets of shale gas with the potential to supply three million homes from initial production.

POTENTIAL

In its interim results, the company added it also had the potential to deliver five production well pads, with each pad having up to 16 wells taking the total to 80 wells.

Initial production would be within 12-18 months with the “right Government support”.

“We look forward to working constructively with the new administration to achieve a streamlined regulatory process that can deliver accelerated development of this strategic natural resource,” said IGas.

GEOLOGY

The company said that its evidence to the British Geological Survey‘s scientific review on shale gas extraction also showed that the geology of its Gainsborough Trough assets in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire was much less complex compared with other areas of the UK.

INDUCED SEISMICITY

IGas added that there was a new method of looking at the likelihood of induced seismicity occurring, which supplemented the techniques the company already uses.

“This method looks at the geomechanical history and setting of the area and analyses 11 factors which affect the likelihood of experiencing induced seismicity.  

“Together with existing techniques, these give us a good idea of how likely we are to experience induced seismicity in a wider area and on a site by site basis.”

“Using this method to supplement already existing techniques, the Gainsborough Trough, on a qualitative basis, can be demonstrated to have a significantly lower chance of induced seismicity when compared with the Bowland Basin in Lancashire.”

The company added that the method meant that the risk of induced seismicity could be materially better understood, with further hydraulic fracturing in multiple wells needed to test and calibrate the models used.

OPPORTUNITY

“We have always believed the science, as well as the need for increased domestic production of gas, supports a lifting of the moratorium.  

“The country’s shale gas opportunity is enormous and aside from potentially reducing the country’s dependency on imports, particularly LNG, has many benefits.”

These include employment, taxes, business rates, community benefits, energy security or a lower carbon footprint supply.  

“We have a world-class resource in our assets in the Gainsborough Trough and can demonstrate how shale can provide safe, secure and affordable energy for the UK in the near term,” added the company.