Giant gas field thought to be worth £112bn discovered in Lincolnshire reports The Telegraph

A giant gas field thought to be worth £112bn has been discovered under Lincolnshire.

The fuel could theoretically power the UK for a decade and create thousands of jobs if it is tapped, according to the Telegraph.

The huge energy deposit is centred under Gainsborough, energy company Egdon has announced, and stretches into Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire.

Egdon is owned by American oil giant HEYCO, whose CEO George Yates will formally announce the findings at the Lincolnshire Energy Conference later this month.

It’s estimated that the gas field contains 480 billion cubic metres of gas – around ten times the UK’s annual usage – and would add £112 billion to the economy.

Councillor Colin Davie (Con), the portfolio holder for the economy on Lincolnshire County Council, says the discovery could be even bigger than initial media reports suggest.

Fracking for oil and gas is currently banned onshore in the UK over concerns it could cause small earthquakes.

However Coun Davie believes rising energy costs will force the government to reverse this policy eventually.

“The economic impact looks very positive for jobs creation and flowing into the local economy,” Cllr Davie said.

“It needs to be interrogated by the public, but if it’s half as good as it promises, it will be something that people will welcome.

“This government will come under pressure from the public as they pay for its energy policy with rising costs.

“They can’t say we shouldn’t use oil and gas on our doorstep when it costs us so much to import it.

“Fracking may be something that needs to be allowed down the road to rescue the economy. There has to be a serious conversation about that.”

Egdon has been quietly testing the geologically feature known as the Gainsborough Trough for several years before confirming the deposits.

Mark Abbott, chief executive of Egdon, told the Telegraph: “Our results compare favourably with US commercial shale operations and are potentially world class.

“We could access all that energy from drilling pads on the ground above, each roughly the size of one or two football fields. The land take would be far smaller than for solar farms and the energy produced would be far greater.”

The discovery will continue the debate about Lincolnshire’s role in energy production, with vast areas being given over to solar farms.