IGas Energy finds 1,400 ft thick shale
In a statement prepared to update investors, IGas Energy today announced that drilling at Ellesmere Port has been completed ahead of schedule and that a 1,400 ft thick shale interval was discovered.
This is good news for the growing onshore oil and gas industry. Understanding the geology is key to determining the longer term potential for shale gas and other forms of energy extraction in Britain.
IGas Energy says cores taken during drilling will now be analysed.
OESG member Richard Sands, managing director at Moorhouse Petroleum, explains: “Core analysis is a process for determining the gas content of the shale. Once the core is retrieved to surface, it is put into individual containers so that the liberated gas can be accurately measured. The organic content of the shale is also measured back in laboratory conditions. This provides an indication of the ability of the rock to form gas – the higher the organic content, the more gas it may be possible to harvest.”
Today’s update is also good news for local jobs and supply chain SMEs.
At the latest count, over 50,000 people in Ellesmere Port were out of work. But it’s an area with a strong industrial heritage, and many of those people will already have the technical and engineering skills that could be put to use should the area play host to future oil and gas production.
Ellesmere Port is also home to hundreds of small engineering companies and others with experience of working in related sectors, such as the nearby chemical and petrochemical industry, that could find work in the supply chain.
According to a report commissioned by IGas Energy and Peel Environmental published in July 2014, a successful onshore oil and gas industry could create 3,500 new jobs in the Ocean Gateway that encompasses Ellesmere Port, with a supply chain spend of £10 billion.
If you’re an SME business in Ellesmere Port, and would like to know how we can help you access new markets in the developing onshore oil and gas sector, why not join us? Find out more about membership here.