GAS extraction plants could be dotted across the whole of central Scotland if the area is opened up to fracking.
The area, measuring around 10,000 square miles, could be licensed for use for gas extraction following Government studies.
We told last week how a report by PWC showed UK reserves could boost GDP by £50billion by 2035 – with Scotland’s share generating £5billion over the same period.
Getting hold of it could drive down energy prices and boost the economy but campaigners have warned of problems associated with fracking, where water, sand and chemicals are forced underground at high pressure.
Use of the technique was suspended in the UK over concerns it was responsible for causing two earthquakes in Lancashire, but the ban has now been lifted.
Petroleum Exploration and Development licences have already been granted for five areas in the Central Belt.
Dart Energy have permission to search for gas at Canonbie in Dumfriesshire and hope to drill near Airth, Stirlingshire.
The other sites are in the west and east of Fife and northern Lanarkshire.
An area covering the entire Central Belt could be licensed this year following initial checks by the UK Energy department.
The five-fold increase in the use of fracking to extract shale oil in the US since 2004 has been widely credited with playing a significant part in their economic recovery.
The debate is set to split Scotland – with pro-fracking campaigners highlighting the jobs and wealth it could bring and environmentalists flagging up the dangers posed to our countryside.