Reuters: From cranes to chemists, investors weigh UK shale bets

From trucks and cranes to chemists and trains, the supply chain winners from the U.S. shale boom have often been surprisingly simple. Now investors and executives are eyeing businesses that might benefit from a boom in Britain.

Many of the opportunities from across the pond should be replicable, investors say, but the UK's far smaller size reduces some of the transport challenges while its population density means environmental concerns could be greater.

Although it is still very early days, signs are encouraging. The British Geological Survey has estimated rock formations in northern England's Bowland Basin hold around 1,300 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas. Even with usual recovery rates as low as 10-15 percent, it could supply Britain's annual consumption of 3tcf long into the future.

In January the nascent industry got another boost as Total became the first major oil company to commit to exploring for shale gas in the country.  MORE