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CUARDILLA RESOURCES claims to have discovered 200 trillion ft³ of gas in the UK’s Bowland Shale, smashing all previous estimates.

The small, UK-based energy company says that it found almost four times as much gas than it had predicted – theoretically enough to meet the country’s demands for several decades to come. Cuadrilla’s claims still need to be independently verified, and in reality as little as 10% of the gas may actually be recoverable, but it establishes the UK as one of Europe’s most promising sites for the unconventional resource even so.

Speaking to reporters, Cuadrilla CEO Mark Miller said that the company planned to drill between 400 and 800 wells over the coming years, creating anywhere up to 5,600 jobs. It hopes to present the UK government with a development plan next year, beginning production in 2013. He added that results from test wells showed the area had as much gas per square mile as some of the most successful sites – known as ‘plays’ – in North America.

Arguably the most important of these is The Marcellus Shale, home to recoverable reserves of 84 trillion ft³ and much of the US’ booming gas industry. In the past few years the upswing in North American production has had a considerable effect on gas prices, making petrochemical production on the continent significantly cheaper. According to the American Chemistry Council, “further development of our nation’s shale gas resources will lead to a significant expansion in domestic petrochemical capacity.”

“Indeed,” it continued, “a new competitive advantage has already emerged for US petrochemical producers.”

Cuadrilla’s plans to make the UK a leading producer of shale gas will not go unopposed, however. The fracking process, where water is forced through layers of rock to release trapped gas, has been heavily criticised by several environmental groups. The company was forced to stop its drilling in the area earlier this year when a series of earthquakes were blamed on its use of the controversial process. An investigation into whether or not the fracking contributed to the tremors is expected to report within a matter of weeks. Miller said he was “confident” its conclusion would allow Cuadrilla to resume its work.