Shale gas ‘to create 5,600 jobs’

21 September 2011 Last updated at 10:56 ET

Shale gas test drilling in Lancashire was halted in June

An energy firm which has been test drilling for controversial shale gas in Lancashire has said it could create up to 5,600 jobs across the UK.

Cuadrilla Resources began testing for gas on the Fylde Coast in March, using a technique known as “fracking”.

In a meeting in Blackpool on Wednesday, it said it has found a significant amount of gas and hopes to begin drilling commercially within two years.

Opponents to the process believe it produces damaging carbon emissions.

A small protest, organised by Campaign Against Climate Change, was held outside the meeting at The Imperial Hotel in Blackpool.

Fracking involves the hydraulic fracturing of the ground using high-pressure liquid containing chemicals to release the gas.

Environmental concerns

Campaigners have warned developing the fossil fuel could draw investment away from the UK’s potentially huge renewable industry.

The gas is found in shale formed from deposits of mud, silt, clay and organic matter.

The process has caused controversy in the US on environmental grounds, where there have been claims from some householders that the subsequent release of gas has caused illness.

Campaign Against Climate Change staged a protest in Blackpool on Wednesday

There are also claims that the gas itself can pollute drinking water, with footage of people able to set fire to the water coming out of their taps.

In Lancashire, the tests were halted in June when two earthquakes occurred in the nearby Blackpool area.

Cuadrilla said it was expecting to find out within the next 30 days whether or not its work contributed to the tremors.

Campaign group Campaign Against Climate Change held a demonstration near Cuadrilla’s testing on Sunday.

But the company has said environmental issues are very important to them.

Cuadrilla’s chief executive, Mark Miller, said the process would not pose a threat to UK groundwater.

He said the company hoped to drill up to 400 wells in Lancashire to extract some of the 200 trillion cubic feet of gas it had found under the ground in the area.

He said thousands of highly skilled jobs would be created, with 1,700 of those in Lancashire, with posts paying an average wage of £55,000.

Mr Miller said the wells – as many as 400 over the next nine years and up to 800 over 16 years if gas extraction is successful – could be grouped in units of 10 on each football pitch-sized , reducing their impact on the landscape.

He said each well is drilled and then fracking takes place over several weeks, after which the well can potentially produce gas for up to 30 to 50 years.

Mr Miller said: “When they are done right, someone driving by on a country road or walking their dog, it will be hard for them to see our s as they will blend in with the Lancashire countryside.”

He added: “This can have a great economic boost to the area, particularly in the types of jobs that would be created, so as we projected today there is a lot in it for the workers that want to come on board and get a career in the gas industry.”

Phil Thornhill, from Campaign Against Climate Change, was one of those protesting outside the meeting.

He said: “Those jobs could and should be in green energy. We need a revolution in the economy to really deal with climate change effectively.

“We need to be moving much quicker than we are to a low carbon economy, that would be a lot of jobs, a lot of development.

“They could create jobs in renewables if they put the investment there.”

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