Upbeat tone struck on British shale gas LONDON, April 3 (UPI) -- An energy company operating in Great Britain said there may be more than 4 trillion cubic feet of gas in shale deposits in the north of the country. "The provisional independent pre-drill estimate of the shale gas initially in place in the IGas acreage in the northwest of England was up to 4.6Tcf," energy company IGas said in a statement. Having now drilled and logged the shale, the gas initially in place would more than double using these initial log results and applying a consistent methodology. The estimated is more than double the volume expected in its other shale assets in the country. If 10 percent of the reserves from the northwest are recoverable, that would equate to about 25 percent of the country's annual natural gas consumption, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports. The company is looking for partners to explore its shale acreage. England, the company said, could emerge as a shale gas leader among European countries. Cuadrilla Resources announced last year that it voluntarily halted shale gas extraction at a site in northwest England because of small tremors reported in the area near its operations.