IGas wins approval for new shale gas fracking exploration in Nottinghamshire

IGas has won approval for a new shale gas exploration project from Nottinghamshire County Council.

The firm, one of Britain’s leading shale explorers, has been granted planning consent to develop a hydrocarbon well site and to drill one exploratory well at the Tinker Lane site in North Nottinghamshire.

IGas, like other onshore operators around the country, is working to find out if the large quantities of shale that exist in Britain are in the right formations to be commercially prospective, said Stephen Bowler, chief executive of IGas.

“The UK is at a critical juncture in the future of our energy mix and supply as we move away from coal towards lower carbon energy sources. We rely significantly on gas in the UK, not just for electricity, but also in heating eight out of 10 homes and as a raw material in the manufacture of many everyday products.”

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The council previously gave IGas permission to explore the site at Springs Road to test whether the shale rock was suitable for fracking.

Britain is estimated to have enough trapped shale gas to meet its needs for decades, but the use of fracking has been hotly contested by environmental campaigners.