Belfast Telegraph: Fracking and the company that's exploring the depths of Fermanagh

Earlier this year it was announced that Tamboran Resources had identified a huge shale gas field near the border with Co Leitrim last year. The Australian company is eyeing a £6bn investment which it says could create 600 full-time direct jobs and more than 2,400 indirect posts.

Tamboran claims that the projected production of up to 2.2trn cubic feet of shale gas would remove Northern Ireland's dependency on imported gas and the excess gas supply at peak production would enable Northern Ireland to become a significant net exporter of natural gas to other countries.

The company also said that a community investment fund for Co Fermanagh would lead to additional benefits in excess of £2m per year if the proposed fracking project starts production in 2015.

Dr Tony Bazley, a director of Tamboran locally, said that none of the structures used to drill or extract the gas will be above three metres off the ground and that the visual impact would be minimal. He has also pledged that no chemicals will be used in the process.

"If and when the complex is completed it should look like a large farm with a shed, hopefully a traditional Fermanagh barn and a car park, it should have no impact on farming or tourism, and indeed I would hope that both farming and tourism will benefit from shale gas extraction," he said.  MORE