However, energy secretary Ed Miliband is among the many Labour MPs as well as others across the UK who are opposed to fracking, the technique that would need to be used to extract the gas.
However, there are fears the discovery near the town of Gainsborough could spark a row as the gas would need to be extracted via fracking, with critics arguing the practice distracts from net zero goals.
While the practice enables energy firms to access and exploit hard-to-reach resources and creates jobs, it has been the target of regular protests by green activists as another example of finite fossil fuels being exhausted when renewable energy alternatives should be being prioritised in the interests of sustainability and arresting the progress of climate change, with Britain committed to net zero by 2030.
Fears discovery could spark row as gas would need to be extracted via fracking, with critics arguing method distracts from net zero goals.
Egdon’s chief executive Mark Abbott argued the test results from the Gainsborough Trough, which extends north-west towards Doncaster and Sheffield, are “potentially world class”, adding: “We could access all that energy from drilling pads on the ground above, each roughly the size of one or two football fields.
