Location of the DECC/BGS study area in central Britain, together with prospective areas for shale gas, currently licensed acreage and selected urban areas. Other shale gas and shale oil plays may exist. (Credit: Andrews, I.J. 2013. The Carboniferous Bowland Shale gas study: geology and resource estimation. British Geological Survey for Department of Energy and Climate Change, London, UK)The British Geological Survey has released the results of a study of the potential volume of shale gas in the Bowland Basin and beyond, which covers 11 counties in the North of England. Scientists have estimated on a central scenario that there is likely to be some 40 trillion cubic meters (1,400 trillion cubic feet) of shale gas in the ground in this area.
While this does not mean that this amount could be extracted for use, the report will give industry and regulators an indication of how best to plan future exploratory drilling, so that they can determine how much of the gas would be able to be commercially recovered. This is expected to be substantially lower than the total amount of gas in place because of technical and commercial limitations on the level of extraction.
Shale gas development is in its early stages in the UK, but there are already 176 licenses for onshore oil and gas exploration currently issued. According to the UK government, it is up to licensees who are interested in shale gas to come forward with plans to explore shale’s potential, engaging with local communities and gaining the necessary planning permissions and permits. Government expects considerable interest from developers in the 14th onshore licensing round which is to be launched next year.
The BGS is doing further work to establish the amount of shale gas in the Weald Basin in the South East of England.
