Gas field discovery 'very exciting', MP says

Sir Edward Leigh said he is "not going to dismiss" potential gas supply that has been found under Gainsborough, according to a company

Natural gas found under Lincolnshire could supply the country's energy needs for seven years, a company has claimed.

Egdon Resources, an oil and gas exploration company, said the potential resources were first found in the Gainsborough Trough sedimentary basin during drilling in 2019.

The company has now claimed that, following an assessment by Deloitte, the gas resource could supply more than 16 trillion cubic feet of gas and create up to 250,000 jobs.

Sir Edward Leigh, the Conservative MP for Gainsborough said: "I'm very excited and I'm not going to dismiss it."

The gas is buried about 2km underground in shales and sandstones. The field stretches across parts of Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire.

Mark Abbott, the chief executive officer at Egdon Resources, said: "Modelling estimates that if this was developed it would generate a GDP contribution of £140bn and up to 250,000 direct and indirect jobs."

He claimed it would also offset 202 million tonnes of CO2 associated with imported gas – equivalent to the annual emissions of "over 40 million cars".

Sir Edward said: "I'm going to welcome all research and if it is going to power the nation for a decade and create thousands of jobs locally and safely, then I'm all in favour for it."

Matt Boles, a Liberal Democrat councillor for West Lindsey District Council, said: "I welcome anything that can regenerate Gainsborough, but we need to really see all the details."

To drill, or not to drill?

Analysis by Paul Murphy, BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Environment Correspondent

You may not have heard of the "Gainsborough Trough" before, but this vast area of land, which includes the market town of the same name, could soon be at the centre of a fiery debate about the UK's energy policy.

According to reports, this "giant gas field" could meet the country's energy needs for a decade, create tens of thousands of jobs and provide much-needed tax revenue.

But there are reasons why it might sound too good to be true.

Fossil fuel extraction in the UK is increasingly littered with environmental and political obstacles. In recent years there have also been numerous legal challenges.

The fundamental concern is that extracting new oil and gas will accelerate the worsening climate crisis. There will also be fierce opposition to any drilling plans that involve fracking, the high-powered shattering of underground rock using powerful chemicals to bring shale gas to the surface.

It's unclear whether fracking techniques will be needed or deployed here, but the Labour government has been unequivocal in its position on this method, making a pre-election pledge to "ban fracking for good".

And, be prepared for absolutely nothing at all to come of this reported discovery.

Take the example of the West Newton Oil and Gas project to the east of Hull. This was licensed in 2008 and described as "potentially one of the largest hydrocarbon fields discovered" onshore in the UK.

Seventeen years has passed and nothing of commercial significance has been extracted from that site in East Yorkshire.

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