Total's shale deal could be worth six months of gas Shale explorers estimate that, by a conservative reckoning, 10pc of the gas is recoverable using fracking, whereby high pressure water and sand is pumped into the rocks. It is buying around 40pc of the rights to the PEDL 139 and 140 licensing areas, which are shared by Dart Energy, IGas Energy, Egdon Resources and eCORP. Egdon intends to drill a deep evaluation well in the area this year. The gas is trapped in a 125-metre thick layer of shale rock laid down by an ancient sea 300 million years ago and which now sits at a depth of more than 2,000 metres. There is also deeper shale that the licence holders are keen to explore. Total's £35m investment could fund at least five wells across the 94 sq mile area, based on industry estimates that each well will cost around £6m at most. It is an opportunity for Total to profit from the growth of fracking in the UK and demonstrate its safety credentials to the French government, which has outlawed the practice. Total previously tried to invest in Cuadrilla's fracking of the Bowland Shale in the North West, which is believed to be a geological match for the Lincolnshire shale.