LONDON: UK shale gas-driller Cuadrilla Resources is holding preliminary talks with energy investors to sell a stake in the firm, amid keen interest to develop the country's unconventional gas potential, its Australian owner AJ Lucas said on Monday.
Shares in AJ Lucas rose more than 13 percent to A$2.08 per share on Monday, their highest since March 2011, after it commented on UK newspaper reports over the weekend that Cuadrilla was holding talks with investors.
The Financial Times newspaper and others said that UK utility Centrica was holding talks to buy a major stake in Cuadrilla, citing sources. AJ Lucas on Monday said in a statement it was holding talks with several companies but declined to give specifics.
Cuadrilla and Centrica both declined to comment.
Financial and technical support from a major energy company could help unlock the 200 trillion cubic feet of shale gas that Cuadrilla estimates lies beneath its sites in Lancashire, northern England, enough to cover Britain's gas needs for 75 years.
The British Geological Survey (BGS) estimates Britain's recoverable onshore shale reserves at a much smaller 5.3 trillion cubic feet, which would be enough to meet Britain's gas consumption for one and a half years.
BGS is expected to upgrade its estimate of UK shale gas resources early next year.
The Bowland shale, which Cuadrilla hopes to tap, is the country's major gas bearing shale formation.
"AJ Lucas confirms that, as part of its and Cuadrilla's ongoing review of the options for appraisal and development of the Bowland Basin, discussions are being held with a number of parties regarding the future development of the Bowland Basin," according to a statement.
Shale gas has helped transform the US energy market, lowering gas prices, and offers Britain, Europe's biggest gas market, a means of switching to greener energy while bolstering its falling natural gas production.
"However, these discussions remain at a preliminary stage and the company (AJ Lucas) is not in a position to advise whether any agreement will result from them," it added, referring to newspaper reports.
Cuadrilla was given the go-ahead to drill for shale gas in December when Britain lifted its 18-month ban on exploration, following a safety review after the process of hydraulic fracturing used to retrieve gas from rock formations caused tremors at its site in Lancashire.
Cuadrilla is so far the only UK company with shale gas drilling rights.
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