Shares in IGas Energy (LON:IGAS) advanced on Thursday after it confirmed it has been awarded 17 new licences as part of the UK’s 14th onshore licensing round.
Having been offered seven licence blocks earlier in the first tranche earlier this year, the company has now been offered ten more.
It increases IGas’s acreage position by 25%, adding 162,000 acres, to a Total of 876,000 acres under licence.
"We are delighted to have been formally offered these new blocks by the OGA, which significantly increases our acreage,” said chief executive Stephen Bowler.
“We are also pleased to be strengthening the relationships with our existing partners Total, Egdon and GDF in these strategic areas.”
The new acreage is located in the Boland basin, in North West of England, as well as the Gainsborough Trough, in the East Midlands. It has also secured acreage in the Weald basin, in South East of England.
It is partnered with Total and Egdon Resources (LON:EDR) in the East Midlands, and with GDF Suez in the North West.
Acreage in the South East will be wholly owned. The southern area is considered to have conventional oil and gas potential, rather than shale, and are located adjacent to the company’s Singleton and Bletchingley fields.
Bowler added: “We already operate over 100 sites across the country and will continue to ensure that, in all existing and new areas, we engage with the local communities.
“This is a critical time for the future of Britain's energy mix as gas, of which 50% of our consumption is currently imported, is central to our energy security as we transition to a lower carbon environment."
IGas shares gained 0.88p, 4.29%, to trade at 21.25p each.