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The spot I am standing on is either a potential £1TRILLION gas bonanza and a solution to Britain’s energy crisis ... or the site of what could be an environmental catastrophe.

Backers of a “shale gas revolution” believe tapping into the vast reserves underground would bring with it the promise of cheaper bills for millions.

But campaigners claim the process to get at the gas – fracking – is ­environmental vandalism.

The question of whether the process is worth the potential cost is a hotly debated topic and has led to arrests at a series of protests.

Hydraulic fracking is the method of extracting gas trapped in shale rock underground.

After a well is drilled, water, sand and chemicals are blasted through to break the rock.

But there are concerns that ground water could become contaminated, that gas will leak out and the ­countryside be left blighted. In one part of the US, North Dakota, so much gas is burned off from shale wells that the flares can be seen from space.

The Mirror was given access to two shale gas sites near Preston, close to another site where test drilling was initially blamed for causing two small earth tremors in 2011.

While there is relatively little in the way of equipment above ground, there could be vast amounts of gas beneath my feet and beyond.

A recent report from the British Geological Society estimated the Bowland Shale, as it is known, could contain 1,300 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Conservative estimates say 10% of that could be extracted, which could meet the country’s needs for 40 years.

(Image: Getty)

Francis Egan, boss of Cuadrilla, which has drilling licences in Lancashire and West Sussex, has no doubt about the potential.

“It is big,” he said. “Getting 10% of what’s down there is conservative.”

He said the value of the extractable gas in the mile-thick Bowland Shale area is £1trillion, at today’s prices, over 30 years.

It could be even higher as there could be as much as 2,280 trillion cubic feet of gas there. Shale gas has helped to transform the economy in the US, where it accounts for 30% of gas consumption, compared with just 1% in 2000.

More than two million wells have been drilled, with some even situated in town centres, disguised behind fake shop fronts.

The impact has been dramatic.

In four years, the US has gone from being the world’s largest gas importer to largely self-sufficient – with plans to export.

Household energy bills are at their lowest since 1999, with some down by half.

The same could not happen here because gas and electricity make up a smaller proportion of the overall bill.

However, a report commissioned by Energy Secretary Ed Davey said wholesale gas prices could fall by a quarter in the UK and bring down household energy bills.

Mr Egan said: “What drives gas prices is supply and demand and the distance between the two.

“The greater the distance, the more expensive. If you import it from the Middle East it is going to cost more.”

But his company has a fight on its hands, with growing concerns about the impact of fracking.

Water companies recently said the process uses so much water that people could see their taps run dry.

Industry body Water UK said: “Fracking requires huge amounts of water, which will inevitably put a strain on supplies.”

Chancellor George Osborne and his allies are keen to play down the environmental impact of fracking.

But the Government’s own consultation on plans to loosen planning rules for drilling sites contained a catalogue of potential disasters. It warned of noise, dust, air pollution, “visual intrusion into the landscape”, traffic, the risk of landslides, flooding and soil contamination.

Greenpeace also found it could bring down house prices.

Its research said almost two-thirds of England has been earmarked for potential fracking – and local ­opposition is expected to be fierce.

Singleton in Lancashire is a village near a Cuadrilla site and parish councillor Maxine Chew admitted there was a mixed reaction.

She said: “Most people are keeping quiet and hoping everything will be all right. The majority are comfortable with it but I wouldn’t say happy.

“There are five or six families who are vociferously against it. They’re worried about seismic movement and water table contamination.”

Mr Osborne has handed shale gas producers generous tax breaks.

Ministers are also trying to get residents on side. They are backing an industry “charter” with a series of community payments which could be worth £1.1billion over 25 years.

Under the plans, communities would receive at least £100,000 in benefits for each fracking well and 1% of the profits they make.

But despite the incentives, many are unhappy and last Friday police arrested 16 demonstrators who ­blockaded a site earmarked for fracking in Balcombe, West Sussex.

Greenpeace’s Lawrence Carter said: “Even if they do manage to get some gas out, the fracking industry’s own research reveals that production wouldn’t reach meaningful levels until well into the next decade.

“If shale is the answer to Britain’s economic malaise, the Chancellor is asking the wrong question.”

The row comes as the UK faces a looming crisis, with several polluting gas and coal-fired power stations due to be switched off and Government delays preventing their replacement.

At the same time, ministers are dragging their feet over plans for new nuclear power stations.

As a result, the UK faces an energy crunch – with the risk of blackouts having doubled in the past year.

While opinion is divided over whether fracking is the answer, everyone agrees something needs to be done to solve the energy crisis.