The I-Gas energy group has secured a rig at a location in Ellesmere Port and expects to carry out hydraulic fracturing work later in the year.

Last winter, the firm’s exploratory ‘fracking’ site in Barton Moss, Salford, became a focal point for protestors who established a camp and disrupted the delivery of supplies.

The company is still analysing the results from Barton; it says that information gathered from Ellesmere Port and a third (unnamed) well will give it “sufficient information” to design an “appropriate hydraulic fracture programme for wells in the area.

“This will prove invaluable for future planning applications for potential shale wells and for the ability to demonstrate the commerciality of gas extraction from these deep formations.”

Chief executive Andrew Austin said: “We are delighted to have secured a suitable rig for our exploration well at Ellesmere Port. This well — similar to the one that we successfully drilled at Barton Moss earlier this year (pictured) — is to further appraise the geology in the North West. It is another step in unlocking Britain’s onshore energy resources.”