The company owned by Manchester United takeover candidate Sir Jim Ratcliffe holds the rights to explore for shale gas beneath the club's Carrington training ground.
Chemical giant Ineos owns a 60 per cent stake in an onshore oil and gas licence covering large swathes of Trafford and Salford.
The licence, known as PEDL193, covers an inverted, L-shaped 296 sq km plot including Carrington, Trafford Park, Irlam, Eccles, Urmston, Stretford and Sale, stretching from Golborne, Wigan at its north west boundary, down to Higher Whitley, Cheshire, at the south west edge.
Its north eastern boundary is around half a mile from Old Trafford stadium. Ineos owns 60 per cent of the licence, with the 40 per cent held by Star Energy Group, previously known as IGas Energy. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. Ineos initially paid £30m for a 50% stake in the rights to PEDL193 and several other sites in the North West, East Midlands and Scotland in a deal with IGas energy in March 2015.