A test well at a site near Hull has revealed what could be the UK’s largest onshore gas field.

The site at West Newton was thought to contain 189bn cubic feet of gas, worth £947million at today’s prices. The previous largest discovery was Saltfleetby in Lincolnshire which had 76bn cubic feet of gas.

The three firms involved in the find, oil and gas investor Reabold Resources, extraction company Rathlin Energy and Union Jack Oil, said the results remained to be confirmed by further test wells due to be drilled in Q3 2019. Planning permission has already been granted for the test well.

Sachin Oza, Co-CEO of Reabold, said: “From its onshore location near Hull and with nearby infrastructure available, we anticipate that West Newton can provide material volumes of hydrocarbons for the UK’s energy needs at low cost and in the near term.”