Hundreds of billions of pounds worth of gas deposits are in Manx waters, according to an election candidate.

Glenfaba and Peel candidate Trevor Cowin told a requisition meeting on Thursday night he had ’made inquiries’ and the claims were confirmed to be true.

This was in response to a question from an audience member asking the candidates what they would do with a potential £800bn gas deposit in the seabed.

Mr Cowin said it would be ’ridiculous’ not to exploit it.

Leo Cussons, Isle of Man Green Party hopeful, disagreed and said it was be a ’backward step’ as he insisted there was no market in offshore gas.

Meanwhile, Michael Lee and Tim Crookall, independent candidates, both supported drilling for the gas if the figure was correct.

Ray Harmer explained he was skeptical of the reserve, while Geoffrey Boot felt taking advantage of the deposit would be ’contrary to what [the government] is trying to achieve in the climate situation’.

Kate Lord-Brennan MLC refused to comment on the matter.

A local company had set out its intentions to develop what it called a ’sizeable reservoir’ of gas near Maughold in October 2019, but a licence to conduct a seismic survey of the area seabed expired in April last year.