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Huge swathes of land in Greater Manchester could be opened up to fracking after licenses were awarded to energy giants to explore for oil and gas.

Environmental campaigners have raised fears of a ‘reckless dash for gas’ after The Oil and Gas Authority – the UK’s oil and gas regulator – revealed energy companies had been given permission to search seven ‘blocks’ across the region.

Huge chunks of Trafford, Rochdale, Salford, south Manchester, Bury, Bolton, and Wigan have been opened up for gas and oil exploration.

Licences give companies the right to explore for gas and oil, but they still need planning permission to build rigs and drill.

If searches are successful, the move could pave the way for fracking sites across the region - the controversial method of extracting shale gas or oil from the ground.

Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into underground rocks at high pressure.

Companies including INEOS Upstream; Hutton Energy; and OK Energy could soon set about exploring land across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Cheshire.

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Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk said he would ‘keep a close eye’ on developments.

He added: “We are still in the early stages and there is no guarantee that anything will be found during the exploration period.

“The oil and gas industries are subject to very strict regulations and limitations as to where they can drill.”

Gas exploration has been particularly contentious in Trafford.

In October, iGas was given permission by town hall chiefs to explore potential gas reserves thousands of feet beneath the earth near the Trafford Centre and Chill Factore.

The scheme is identical to the controversial project at Barton Moss, which sparked a six-month protest by environment campaigners opposed to fracking.

The approval means IGas would be able to develop any methane it discovers in the coal bed underground.

But, like Barton Moss, if the energy company wants to extract any shale gas it finds, through fracking, it would have to make another application.

(Image: Dominic Salter)

Dan Jerrome, a Green Party campaigner in Trafford said the latest move to hand out licenses across the region could lead to a ‘reckless dash for gas’.

David Messina, managing director at Hutton, which will explore four blocks locally, said licenses were merely the ‘first step’ - and that wells would not be drilled for at least three years.

Tory MP for Altrincham and Sale West, Graham Brady, said shale gas could become an important energy source in the UK, reducing dependence on ‘volatile’ overseas suppliers.

He added: “The government has committed to the very highest standards of environmental monitoring and protection and these must be observed in practice.

“Any exploitation of shale gas reserves must only proceed when it can be shown to be safe and to meet proper environmental standards.”