Bowland-Hodder (northern England) shale basin
Bowland-Hodder (northern England) is one of the UK onshore shale basins on Brent & Beyond. Organic-rich Carboniferous (Mississippian) mudstones of the Bowland Shale and Hodder Mudstone, up to several km thick in fault-bounded basins.
Gas in place is not recoverable gas. No UK recovery factor has been established; years of supply need a recovery factor first.
Open Bowland-Hodder on the map
| Nation | England |
|---|---|
| Play | Gas (Carboniferous) |
| Gas in place | 822 / 1 329 / 2 281 tcf (P90 / P50 / P10) |
| Oil in place | — |
| Recoverable | No official recoverable figure: BGS (2013) said a recovery factor could not yet be estimated. See the recovery table below for 8–20% scenarios. |
| Status | No active fracking. England-wide moratorium since Nov 2019; a permanent ban is promised. PNR site restoration due by Jan 2027. |
| On the map from | Aug 2010: Preese Hall-1 (Cuadrilla), the first UK well drilled for shale gas, spudded 16 Aug 2010 |
Wells and licences
- 2011: Preese Hall-1 (Cuadrilla), Fylde: fracked; 2.3 ML earthquake, operations suspended.
- 2018–19: Preston New Road PNR-1z and PNR-2 (Cuadrilla): the only horizontal UK shale wells fracked; stopped after the 2.9 ML event.
- 2025: PNR wells plugged and decommissioned.
Source: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data · date: source