It's still to early to tell if the Sussex natural gas find is a important one. Corridor Resources says it has found billions of cubic feet of natural gas but industry analysts say there have to be more tests before anyone can be sure.

In January the company will begin to drill more test holes to confirm the size of the gas deposit in a farmer's field. It's a partnership between Corrider Resources and the Potash Company of Saskatchewan.

Brian Roulston, PCS's project manager, says the find is smaller than the Sable Island field off Nova Scotia.

"But the important thing about this is that it's on land. It's not off in the Atlantic. It's alongside the TransCanada highway close to Sussex and relatively close to the Maritimes North-eastern pipeline."

The discovery is the result of a lucky break. PCS was looking for a place to pump brine that's been leaking into their potash mine. It found gas instead, a very lucky break.

At today's price the gas would be worth about $3.5 billion.

Natural Resources Minister Jeannot Volpe says the news could lead to further exploration in New Brunswick.

"Anything that we can find in New Brunswick, whether that be natural gas or oil, it's a plus. It will also promote more investment in New Brunswick. Now we've probably got more companies ready to invest here to try to find some more oil or natural gas."

And some of the people who spoke to a CBC reporter in Sussex think it could provide a boost the local economy.

"Oh, I think it's great. It's great for the future of Sussex and the development. Maybe more people will come and live here and realize how nice it is," one woman said.

A man said, "I think it's quite exciting. Who knows? We didn't think there was any oil in Nova Scotia and look at Sable Island and that area now."

But gas industry experts says it's still too early to get excited.