UK Oil & Gas (UKOG ) has received approval - by way of a 7-2 majority vote - of a 2-year planning permission extension to its Broadford Bridge-1z (“BB-1z”) Kimmeridge oil discovery.
The UK-based oil and gas exploration and production company said the planning extension, which was approved by West Sussex County Council (“WSCC”), runs until 31st March 2024.
The Broadford Bridge-1z (“BB-1z”) Kimmeridge oil discovery is located in licence PEDL234, in which UK Oil & Gas owns 100% interest having acquired the onshore licence back in 2016.
The acquisition of the 300 km² licence included the existing Broadford Bridge well pad, along with planning permission and Environmental Agency consent to drill the exploratory well.
The additional 2 years gained from today’s planning extension will permit any learnings from possible future Kimmeridge drilling at both the Company’s nearby Loxley conventional gas and Horse hill oil fields to be factored into UKOG’s future Broadford Bridge plans, it noted.
As previously reported on 11th March 2022, the Company is currently awaiting a final decision on its appeal against Surrey County Council’s refusal of planning consent for the Loxley gas project by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (“SoS”). It is currently expected that the SoS will issue his decision to UKOG on or before 7 June 2022.
In accord with its stated plans to diversify into the provision of sustainable green energy in the UK, the extension will also permit conceptual plans for the supply of heat energy from BB to a possible new large scale greenhouse end-user to be further developed, UKOG explained. The concept includes use of the BB drilling pad to site new stand-alone deep geothermal wells.
Today’s extension follows last week’s news that UKOG had been awarded a one-year extension by the North Sea
Transition Authority to the Retention Area programme at the PEDL137 licence, which contains the Horse Hill oilfield and the Kimmeridge oil pool.
This extension means that UK Oil & Gas has an additional year to drill a second Horse Hill Kimmeridge well. Under these terms, drilling must start before 30 September 2023. Earlier this month, the Environmental Agency granted UKOG a full production permit for Horse Hill.
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