LONDON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Nottinghamshire County Councilgave the green light on Tuesday for shale gas developer IGas to test drill a shale gas site in northeast England ina first sign from the local authority that it supports shale gasprojects.
IGas' shares surged by more than a fifth to trade at aone-month high of 13.40 pence following the news.
Subject to a legal agreement, IGas will now be allowed tocarry out exploration work at its Springs Road site in NorthNottinghamshire close the city of Sheffield in order to testwhether the shale rock present is suitable for fracking.
The company will have to apply for a separate permit tocarry out fracking work, a process whereby water, sand andchemicals are injected to open up the shale rocks and releasethe trapped gas.
"At this stage we are trying to establish if the significantquantities of gas that we have identified exist in the rightformations to be commercially prospective," said IGas ChiefExecutive Stephen Bowler in a statement.
Nottinghamshire County Council councillors voted seven tofour in favour of the application, a spokesman said.
Britain is estimated to have enough shale gas trapped belowits surface to meet its gas needs for decades but the use offracking is opposed by environmental campaigners who areconcerned about its impact on groundwater and seismic movements.
Britain's shale gas industry is still in its infancy, withthe country's second shale gas fracking permit awarded only lastmonth.
(Reporting by Karolin Schaps)
