G2. Local Greens

File:  ltr to Congress, 76 scientists 2012.pdfResource Type: Letters

File:  ltr to Congress, 76 scientists 2012.pdfResource Type: Letters

Europa Oil & Gas Limited has been making headlines since it announced controversial plans a year ago for gas drilling and lower-volume fracking in the North Yorkshire village of Burniston, near Scarborough.

The company repeatedly said its proposal for a proppant squeeze did not amount to fracking, even though it used the term in correspondence with regulators. The process qualifies as fracking under the North Yorkshire minerals plan, supported by a legal opinion. Details here and here

The volume of liquid proposed for the Burniston proppant squeeze would exceed that used to frack Cuadrilla’s shale gas wells at Preston New Road. Those operations caused earthquakes in 2018 and 2019 and led to an injunction on fracking in England.

About 1,600 formal objections about the Burniston application have been made to North Yorkshire Council.

The planning application will be considered at a meeting of the council’s strategic planning committee in Scarborough on Friday 30 January 2026. Details

Company details

Subsidiary of: Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc

Incorporated: 22 August 1995 by Erika Syba and Paul Barrett. They resigned as directors in 2008 and 2011.

Shares: Europa Oil & Gas Limited owns all the ordinary share capital of the company.

Largest shareholders: The largest shareholders of Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc are: Hargreaves Landsdown, stockbrokers 20.78%; Interactive Investor 20.52%; HSDL Stockbrokers 8.23%. The largest private shareholder is Bo Kroll (7.78%), appointed nearly a year ago as non-executive chairman.

Total shares held by directors of Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings): 9.09%.

Current onshore interests Operator

Europa Oil & Gas Limited is the operator of three UK onshore licences:

• PEDL343 (40% holding) Cloughton/Burniston, North Yorkshire (initial phase just extended for two years to March 2028)
• DL1 (100% holding) Crosby Warren, North Lincolnshire
• DL3 (100% holding) West Firsby, Lincolnshire

(Source: NSTA licence data)

Other licence interests

Europa Oil & Gas Limited also holds interests in:

• PEDL180 (30%) Wressle oilfield, North Lincolnshire, operated by Egdon Resources UK Limited

• PEDL182 (30%) Wressle oilfield, North Lincolnshire, operated by Egdon Resources UK Limited

  (Source: NSTA licence data)

Key people William Holland

Chief executive since March 2023, replacing Simon Oddie. Formerly Europa’s chief financial officer. Previously worked as an engineer with Halliburton in the North Sea and West Africa. He later led teams at Macquarie Bank Limited on equity investment and pre-production structured debt for upstream exploration and production companies. He currently holds 1.31% of shares in Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc

Bo Kroll

Non-executive chairman of Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc since February 2025, replacing Brian O’Cathain. Bo Kroll has a current stake in the holding company of 7.78%. He was born in Denmark in May 1957 and has a degree from the country’s Technical University. Former geophysical engineer with Schlumberger. Currently also chair and CEO of SeeRealTechnologies which works in holographic 3D displays.

Alastair Stuart

Chief operating officer since April 2023. He has Worked with Europa since 2012. He began his career with Total CFP in Paris, before joining Enterprise Oil with the North Sea and the Far East.

Plans Burniston

Europa Oil & Gas Limited has submitted applications for planning permission and environmental consent to construct a wellsite, drill an appraisal well and carry out proppant squeeze operations, a lower-volume form of fracking.

The planning application is due to be considered on Friday 30 January 2026 in Scarborough.

The environmental permit is being considered by the Environment Agency. This month, the North Sea Transition Authority extended the initial phase of PEDL343 for two years until March 2028.

Wressle

Europa Oil & Gas Limited is a partner in a proposal to drill two development wells and build a gas export line at the Wressle oil site in North Lincolnshire.

Planning permission was granted in September 2024 but later rescinded following a legal challenge based on the Supreme Court judgement in the Finch case.

A revised application has not yet been decided. The 2024 accounts said:

“these activities remain contingent upon the budget being approved by the JV partnership and the availability of a suitable rig”.

The accounts estimated total net cost of the Wressle plans to Europa at £1.3m in 2025 and £2.5m in 2026.

Crosby Warren

Europa Oil & Gas Limited reported in interim accounts in 2025 that it was looking at optimising production at Crosby Warren through a workover programme.

Finances

Europa Oil & Gas Limited reported revenue of £3,470,000 for the year to July 2024, the most recent published accounts. This was almost half the revenue achieved in both 2023 and 2022.

Since 2022, the company’s onshore production has been dominated by its share of oil from Wressle. On average, Wressle represented 79% of the total. The remainder was from Crosby Warren and West Firsby.

The company reported in 2024 it was dependent on the parent holding company for further financial support and not calling in an intercompany loan. Europa Oil & Gas Limited said:

“For the Group to pursue all of its capital projects in a timely and efficient manner it is likely to require additional funding during the going concern period to enable it to meet its obligations as they fall due. In addition, should either or both of the extreme downside scenarios materialise, the need for further funding could be accelerated.”

Key financial figures 2024

Source: Europa Oil & Gas Limited company accounts for year to 31 July 2024

Total net production of onshore fields: 137 bopd (2023: 265 bopd)

Europa’s share of Wressle production: average 107 barrels of oil per day (2023: 213 bopd)

Comprehensive loss for the year after taxation: £8,062,000 (2023: £836,000)

Dividend payment: £nil (2023: £nil)

Revenue: £3,470,000 (2023: £6,653,000)

Gross profit: £252,000 (2023: £3,385,000)

Total assets: £4,794,000 (2023: £13,449,000)

Total liabilities: £31,869,000 (2023: £32,462,000)

Net liabilities: £27,075,000 (2023: £19,013,000)

Net cash generated from operating activities: £826,000 (2023: £3,661,000)

Cash and cash equivalents at year end: £1,300,000 (2023: £5,044,000

Staff costs: £319,000 (2023: £291,000)

Key management personnel paid by another group company

Average number of employees, including directors: 4 (2023: 5)

Exploration write-off: £4,998,000 (2023: 0) Largely the Serenity North Sea licence

Total long-term borrowing: £26,327,000 (2023: £27,582,000. Loan from Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc in place since 2008. £3.6m repaid in 2024 (2023: £1.2m)

Financial trends

Source: Europa Oil & Gas Limited company accounts

Key financial activities

November 2025 funding sought for Burniston. Europa and its partner, Egdon Resources, announced they were seeking to raise £6.5m to drill the proposed Burniston appraisal well and carry out a 3D seismic survey. The two companies are jointly offering up to a 40% interest in the project. They jointly hold 80% of the exploration and development licence.

May 2025 Revenue Swap Agreement. Under an agreement with an Canadian investment company, Europa received an upfront payment of $500,000 in exchange for 4.5% of the remaining gross revenues generated from oil production at the Wressle well

December 2024 termination of Whisby-4 royalty agreement. Europa announced it terminated the royalty agreement with BritNRG, operator and licence holder of the Whisby field over the Whisby-4 well.

Onshore production Wressle

The majority of oil production recorded by Europa Oil & Gas Limited is from its 30% share in the Wressle licence.

But Wressle production volumes fell after the peak in 2023.

• 2022 Europa share of Wressle (6 months): 5,953m3 of total 19,843m3
• 2023 Europa share of Wressle (12 months): 9,346m3 of total 31,152m3
• 2024 Europa share of Wressle (12 months): 6,961m3 of total 23,203m3
• 2025 Europa share of Wressle (10 months): 4,086m3 of total 13,619m3

Source: NSTA formal production data. This data does not include oil produced during well testing.

In the past year, Wressle oil production represented on average 2.3% of the UK onshore oil total.

In the initial month of formal production, Wressle produced 5.5% of the UK onshore total.

But this was exceeded in only three of the following months. Of these, two (March 2023 6.3% and April 2023 12.6%) were when production at the UK’s largest onshore producer was suspended because of a pipeline leak in Poole Harbour.  (Total onshore oil production averaged 2.2% of the UK total.)

Other Europa fields

Europa Oil & Gas Limited operated fields at West Firsby and Crosby Warren produced a total of 1,169m3 in 2024, the most recent full-year figure. This was the lowest annual figure recorded in data for the fields from the NSTA.

Onshore licence relinquishments and surrendered interests

• PEDL181 Kiln Lane, North Lincolnshire: part relinquished in 2016 and 2023
• PEDL143 Holmwood, Surrey: farmouts to UK Oil & Gas plc (UKOG) in 2015, Union Jack Oil in 2016, Angus Energy in 2017 and replacement as operator by UKOG in 2019 after the Forestry Commission refused to extend the lease.
• PL199/215 Whisby 4, Nottinghamshire: termination in 2024 of royalty agreement related to the Whisby-4 wells, held with BritNRG, the operator of the Whisby field.

Injunction

Europa Oil & Gas was accused of harassment after it took out a High Court injunction in 2017 against protests at the Bury Hill Wood (also known as Leith Hill) site in its Holmwood licence in Surrey.

The injunction document named a community group, Surrey Hills Slings, which promoted breast feeding and the use of slings for infants. The group told the High Court:

“Following this event we found ourselves subject to ongoing intimidation and harassment by Europa.”

People found to have breached a High Court injunction could be found guilty of contempt of court and could face prison or fines.

Shareholder actions

In November 2023, Europa’s former chief executive and chairman, Simon Oddie, withdrew his candidacy for re-election to the company’s board, following consultation with shareholders.

Also that month, the company’s founders, Paul Barrett and Erika Syba, attempted to call a general meeting to consider resolutions to remove from the board the chief executive, William Holland as chief executive and chief operating officer, Alastair Stuart. The board said the proposed resolutions were not “in the best interests of the company and none of the directors would vote in favour”.

Residents of the North Yorkshire village facing plans for gas exploration are afraid they may be used as guineapigs for proppant squeeze, a form of lower-volume fracking.

The fears were expressed today by Frack Free Coastal Communities (FFCC), a campaign group opposed to the proposals by Europa Oil & Gas at Burniston, near Scarborough.

The group was responding to the announcement yesterday that North Yorkshire Council’s strategic planning committee would consider the company’s planning application later this month.

FFCC said there had been more than 1,600 objections to the application. Concerns focussed on pollution, climate change and potential earthquakes caused by proppant squeeze, where fluid and proppant are pumped underground at pressures high enough to fracture rocks and release gas.

Objectors include many local people, as well as the MP, Alison Hume, Friends of the Earth, the parish councils of Burniston, Cloughton, Newby and Scalby, and Scarborough town council.

Europa has not yet carried out a 3D seismic survey of the Burniston area to identify faults and geological features. It is seeking an investor to pay for the survey and the drilling plans.

Professor Chris Garforth, of FFCC, said today:

“Residents fear they may be used as guineapigs if the potential risk of earth tremors causing damage to their closely situated homes is not fully and robustly considered with, at the very least, a comprehensive seismic survey being undertaken prior to the application being considered.”

Proppant squeeze is not covered by the moratorium on fracking in England. Last month, the energy minister, Michael Shanks, suggested that the process carried a low risk and was unlikely to be included in the fracking ban promised by the government.

But Professor Garforth said fracking, which caused earthquakes in Lancashire in 2018 and 2019, used lower volumes of fluid than Europa proposed to use at Burniston.

He said:

“Research commissioned by the Oil and Gas Authority (now NSTA) in the wake of the Lancashire earthquakes concluded that it is not possible to predict the seismic response to hydraulic fracturing in relation to site characteristics, fluid volume, rate or pressure; and that where induced seismicity has occurred, mitigation measures have shown only limited success.

“Taken together, this evidence shows that low volume hydraulic fracturing has caused harm and that it is not possible to predict or effectively mitigate against the risk of such harm in other contexts.”

He urged the minister to recognise that the term fracking applied to all hydraulic fracturing operations.

He said:

“Because of the overwhelming scientific research, it is clear that North Yorkshire councillors will need to consider the high risks of this planning application and see it for what it is – fracking – in order to generate huge amounts of money for Europa shareholders and not for the benefit of the residents of Scarborough.”

Europa Oil & Gas has repeatedly denied that proppant squeeze amounted to fracking.

Most recently, the company’s chief executive, William Holland, writing on social media, told opponents:

“Stop scaremongering and support UK growth and prosperity for the people”.

He denied opponents’ claims that the use of proppant squeeze represented a legal loophole.

He also described importing liquified natural gas instead of exploiting domestic supplies as “climate vandalism”.

He said the Burniston gasfield was “conventional”, as opposed to unconventional which often uses high volume fracking. He said it would be drilled in compliance with what he called “the tight regulatory environment that we have in the UK that protects the environment and the interests of local people”.

But Professor Garforth said legal and scientific opinion, backed up by the Oxford English Dictionary, “comes down firmly on the view that fracking refers to all hydraulic fracturing in any rock formation (not just shale), whatever the volume of fluid and proppants and chemicals used.

• A meeting of Frack Free Coastal Communities will be held at 7pm-8.30pm, on Tuesday 27 January 2026, at Burniston Methodist Church
• North Yorkshire Council’s strategic planning meeting is at 1.30pm, on Friday 30 January 2026, at Scarborough Town Hall (more details)

Controversial plans to drill for gas and carry out lower-volume fracking near the North York Moors National Park will be considered at the end of the month, it was confirmed this morning.

Scarborough Town Hall where the Burniston application will be considered. Photo: North Yorkshire Council

In a statement, North Yorkshire Council said members of its strategic planning committee would discuss the application on Friday 30 January 2026. The meeting will begin at 1.30pm at Scarborough Town Hall.

The application, from Europa Oil & Gas Limited, includes creating a wellsite, installing a 38m drilling rig and carrying out a proppant squeeze – a lower volume form of fracking – to explore and test for gas at Burniston near Scarborough.

About 1,600 objections to the application have been submitted.

Representatives of the objectors, the applicant and local representatives will have an opportunity to speak at the meeting.

Councillors will visit the proposed site before the meeting takes place.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for corporate services, Cllr Heather Phillips, whose responsibilities include planning committees, said:

“We recognise that this is a planning application that has attracted significant public interest.

“We have received more than 1,500 representations as part of the planning process, and we understand that many people feel strongly and passionately about the proposals that have been submitted.

“As with all planning applications, I would like to reassure everyone that all representations will be carefully considered by members of the committee prior to any decision being made.”

The meeting will be broadcast live on the council’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@northyorksc.

Europa Oil & Gas announced this morning it has been granted an extension to the first phase of its exploration licence covering controversial plans for gas drilling and lower volume fracking in North Yorkshire.

The first phase of the licence, PEDL343, which includes the proposed Burniston site near Scarborough, had been due to expire in March 2026.

But in an announcement to investors, Europa said the first phase, usually used for exploration, would now run for a further two years until 21 March 2028.

Proposed Burniston gas site (marked in red) in the North Yorkshire heritage coast.
Photo: Europa Oil & Gas environmental permit applicaton

The licence’s second phase, usually used for appraisal, will expire on 21 July 2030.

The decision to extend the PEDL licence was made by the industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority.

The extension gives Europa a further two years to meet its work commitments for the first phase of the licence. These comprise drilling a well to 6,500ft and acquire 17km2 of 3D seismic surveys.

The PEDL licence extension is separate from Europa’s applications for planning permission and environmental permits, which have not yet been decided.

Europa has submitted plans to drill for gas at Burniston, in what the company calls the Cloughton gasfield, and to carry out proppant squeeze, a form of lower-volume fracking.

The planning application is expected to be decided by North Yorkshire Council’s strategic planning committee on 30 January 2026, meeting in Scarborough town hall. At the time of writing, the council had not confirmed the date or venue. (This has now been set for 1.30pm on Friday 30 January 2026 at Scarborough Town Hall).

About 1,600 formal objections have been made to the Burniston planning application. They include opposition from the MP and all local councils.

The Burniston environmental permit application is being considered by the Environment Agency.

William Holland, Europa’s chief executive, said in today’s statement:

“I am very pleased that we have secured this extension which has provided us with the time needed to drill the appraisal well on the 137bcf Cloughton gas field.

“This onshore field is close to the NTS2 [transmission pipeline] and as such a successful appraisal well will allow the field to be brought online quickly.”

He said gas produced at Burniston would displace imported liquified natural gas, “generate well paid local jobs provide gas to heat almost half of the homes in North Yorkshire and generate over £50m in taxes”. He added it would “largely be unnoticed by the local community yet provide a material positive impact to local community groups, as demonstrated at our other onshore UK production sites.”

• DrillOrDrop company profile of Europa Oil & Gas Limited

Click the icon at the bottom right to view the issue full screen. December 2025

The post Down to Earth: December 2025 appeared first on Montana Environmental Information Center - MEIC.

Kate and Aaron talk to Kelly Mitchell, executive director of oil industry watchdog FieldNotes, about about what Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro’s capture by the US means for oil and gas producers here in the West. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has also been making the rounds on Fox cheering on Trump’s actions in Venezuela and calling on US companies to start drilling there, which we also touch on.

News

• The Trump Administration Approved a Big Lithium Mine. A Top Official’s Husband Profited. – New York Times
• Takeaways from Congress’ latest spending package – E&E News

Resources

• Watch this episode on YouTube (link to come)

Credits

• Produced & hosted by Aaron Weiss and Kate Groetzinger
• Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org
• Music: Purple Planet
• Featured image: Natural gas drilling equipment on the Pinedale Anticline, WY. Source: Richard Waite, World Resources Institute

The post Will Maduro’s capture lead to an American oil rift? appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

This past fall, I had the amazing opportunity to intern with Alaska Wilderness League, an experience that profoundly shaped my understanding of environmental advocacy, non-profit lobbying, Alaskan public lands, and the overall legislative process. Working closely with AWL’s lobbying team, I was given the unique opportunity to directly engage with their campaigns through attending lobbying meetings, congressional hearings, fly-ins, and other daily activities.

One of the most valuable aspects of my internship was the chance to shadow the lobby team during their meetings with congressional staffers. Through these meetings, I learned how AWL tailors their messaging to connect with different types of offices by appealing to their priorities or shared experiences. In contrast, meetings with allied offices looked very different. Rather than informing them of the threats facing Alaskan public lands, the focus was on sharing information about upcoming hearings or bill markups and coordinating strategy on legislation they were already working on together. Before this experience, I had simply discussed lobbying tactics in class, but actually seeing these meetings myself made clear the importance of preparation, communication, and framing, in addition to pure passion for protecting public lands.

Another highlight of my internship was participating in the fly-ins, through which AWL helped bring Arctic guides and Inupiat activist Rosemary Ahtuangaruak to Washington, D.C. to tell their stories on The Hill. Not only did I get to assist in preparing materials for the meetings, but I also got to attend them and learn about how national energy policy affects small businesses and some Alaska Native communities. This enlightening experience showed me that politics does not occur in a bubble. The decisions made in Washington, D.C. have real impacts on communities across the nation, and effective advocacy should combine lived experiences with policy expertise– an approach that AWL consistently emphasizes. 

Beyond lobby meetings, I also attended a significant congressional hearing. In September, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,” during which they discussed issues related to public lands, including energy development, mining, cultural resources, and climate change. I, along with others, wore bright blue “Save the Arctic” t-shirts that stood out among the crowd of pro-industry suits sitting in their reserved front-row seats. We even earned the attention of Republican committee member Tom Tiffany (WI-07), who pointedly mentioned us in his closing remarks.

Going from watching these hearings on TV to being directly called out in the Longworth Building by a member of Congress was a surreal experience I will never forget. It gave me the feeling that I am not simply a passive observer of the decisions made in our capital city, but someone who can engage in the process to help make meaningful change.

I am extremely grateful to Alaska Wilderness League for providing me with such a formative experience. My time with AWL reinforced my aspirations to get involved in non-profit environmental lobbying, and this experience taught me so many of the essential skills to excel in this field. In particular, I would like to thank Emma Powell for providing me with such a great experience and for her continued guidance and support throughout the semester, as well as Alex Cohen and Andy Moderow for teaching me so much about lobbying strategies and the legislative process, and the entire AWL staff for creating such a welcoming and supportive environment.

Connor Scafidi is a junior Political Science major and Environmental Studies minor from Boston, MA, studying at the College of the Holy Cross. He is an avid Boston sports fan who enjoys playing indie folk music on guitar, taking trips to the beaches of York, Maine, and hiking Mount Agamenticus with his goldendoodle, Charlie.)

The post Learning to Lobby for the Arctic: A Semester on the Front Lines of Public Lands Protection appeared first on Alaska Wilderness League.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz signed a 20-year agreement yesterday that gives Utah a greater role in management decisions on more than 8 million acres of national forest land. State officials say the deal will improve efficiency and collaboration, but conservation groups warn it could be bad for Utah’s national forests.

“This agreement strips federal protections, shuts the public out of decision-making, and puts Utah’s old-growth forests directly on the chopping block,” said Laiken Jordahl, national public lands advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. Steve Bloch, legal director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said the change “sets the stage for Utah officials to have both a heavy hand and the loudest voice” in the room, “crowding out all other stakeholders.”

Utah has had a Shared Stewardship Partnership with the Forest Service in place since 2019, but this deal goes further than previous agreements, giving the state and counties more say in planning and implementing watershed restoration and grazing and recreation projects, like trails and campgrounds. Utah is the third state to sign an updated stewardship agreement with the Forest Service this year, following Idaho and Montana.

Oil and gas auction gets zero bids in Colorado

Recent federal oil and gas lease auctions highlight sharply declining oil industry interest in public lands. In Colorado, the Bureau of Land Management received zero bids on 23 parcels totaling more than 20,000 acres in an auction held yesterday, even with new, lower leasing and drilling rates put in place last year by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

In Wyoming, companies bid on less than 1 percent of the 26,000 acres offered in a December 30 BLM lease sale. These results suggest many public lands are viewed as uneconomic by the oil and gas industry, undercutting claims that drilling is being constrained by lack of access rather than market realities.

Quick hits Utah, feds ink new deal to manage 8 million acres of national forests

Salt Lake Tribune | Utah News Dispatch

Opinion: Risch must stand with Idahoans against BLM nominee Steve Pearce

Idaho Statesman

Nonpartisan PAC formed in Wyoming to counter efforts to sell off public lands

Buckrail | Powell Tribune

Wyoming’s Coursey leads National Wildlife Refuge System audit igniting sell-off worries

WyoFile

Feds backed Colorado’s plan to get Canadian wolves for years before abrupt shift

Colorado Sun

Congress once again tries to overturn Biden’s Minnesota mining ban

Politico

Panel of judges consider lifting injunction over controversial Oak Flat land swap

KJZZ

As Arizona groundwater disappears, an agricultural giant agrees to use less

Los Angeles Times

Quote of the day

The Shared Stewardship Agreement is nothing more than a sneaky way to clearcut roadless areas in national forests in Utah… Roadless areas provide clean drinking water and function as biological strongholds for populations of threatened and endangered species.”

—Mike Garrity, executive director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Salt Lake Tribune

Picture This

@grandcanyonnps

“It is never the same, even from day to day, or even from hour to hour.” — Clarence Dutton, 1885

Get ready for winter at Grand Canyon National Park! With light snow yesterday afternoon and evening, the National Weather Service in Flagstaff anticipates additional snowfall today, with heavier snow possible along a cold front later this afternoon and evening. Grand Canyon Village could receive 2–3 inches of snow.

Visitors are encouraged to slow down on park roads, allow extra travel time, and use caution in winter driving conditions. If you plan to hike in the canyon or along the Rim Trail, shoe traction devices are strongly recommended to help prevent slips and falls on icy surfaces.

Follow Grand Canyon National Park’s weather forecast, road conditions and webcams here: http://go.nps.gov/06

Visitor stands on the Rim Trail near Hopi House on Jan. 8, 2026 (NPS Photo/J. Baird)

Feature image: Utah’s Wasatch-Cache National Forest; Source: CanyonChaser at the English-language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

The post Utah inks deal giving it more control over national forests appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

“The Hub” is a weekly round-up of transportation related news in the Philadelphia area and beyond. Check back weekly to keep up-to-date on the issues Clean Air Council’s transportation staff finds important.

Happy 2026! Kick off the new year by following the Clean Air Council on Instagram, and check out our website.

Image Source: BillyPenn

BillyPenn: SEPTA expects Regional Rail crowding and delays to subside this month – After months of delays, crowded trains, and cancelled service, Regional Rail riders can expect relief, according to SEPTA. Inspections and repairs have been completed, and railcars are being put back into service. The current rate is about 8 repaired cars back into service every day. The increase in cars will cut down on the crowded conditions that commuters have been experiencing. SEPTA has also leased 10 coaches from Maryland’s transit system to fix the shortage during inspection and repairs. SEPTA is looking to purchase new railcars to upgrade and expand Regional Rail service, but the lack of funding in the State budget severely limits any improvements the agency can make.

Image Source: WHYY

WHYY: SEPTA says trolley wire replacements are done, estimates tunnel will reopen in ‘weeks’ – The trolley tunnel between Center City and West Philadelphia has been closed since November, and work is nearing completion, according to SEPTA last week. Wire replacements have been completed, but system testing is still ongoing, with estimates that the tunnel will reopen in mid-January. The longer repair times are due to the unique nature of the work. SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch noted that SEPTA is focused on returning service only when it’s tested and proven safe and reliable for public transit users.

Image Source: The Inquirer

NBC Philadelphia: SEPTA buses replace trains during construction along the Fox Chase Line – Starting Monday, January 5th, SEPTA riders on the Fox Chase Line will rely on bus service at the Fox Chase, Ryders, Cheltenham, Lawndale, and Olney stations. SEPTA crews will be installing new tracks on weekdays, from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Regional Rail service is expected to operate between Wayne Junction and Center City. Construction and bus service will be expected to continue through early April.

Other Stories

The Inquirer: SEPTA’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year

WHYY: SEPTA’s year in review — from its doomsday budget and train fires to equipment failures and World Cup prep

6ABC: Community-led Peace Patrol aims to boost safety on SEPTA

Fox Philadelphia: Philly’s red light cameras: $100 fines to start at Eakins Oval

Bicycle Coalition: 2025 Bike Count Summary Shows an Increase in Bicycle Trips

CBS Philadelphia: Atlantic City Expressway goes cashless as tolls rise for all drivers

January 8, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Trump Administration, State of Utah Strike Dangerous Deal to Advance State Control of National Forests – 1.8.26

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Laiken Jordahl, Center for Biological Diversity, (928) 525-4433, ljordahl@biologicaldiversity.org 
Mike Garrity, Executive Director, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, 406-410-3373 wildrockies@grmail.com
Laura Welp, Southern Utah Director, Western Watersheds Project, (435) 899-0204, laura@westernwatersheds.org

Salt Lake City, UT – The Trump administration and the state of Utah today announced an agreement to assert Utah’s control over 8 million acres of national forests while cutting public oversight and weakening environmental reviews. The agreement sets the stage for vastly expanded commercial logging as well as state control and management over a host of national forest resources, including minerals, recreation and grazing. All told, the intent of the agreement is clear: to hand publicly owned national forests over to the state of Utah to benefit corporate interests over those of the American public. 

Today’s announcement marks a significant escalation in Utah officials’ long-held goal of wresting control, and ultimately ownership, of public land from the American people.

“Utah politicians have failed repeatedly to sell off public lands outright, so now they’re teaming up with their Trump cronies to push the same disgraceful agenda,” said Laiken Jordahl, national public lands advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This agreement strips federal protections, shuts the public out of decision-making and puts Utah’s old-growth forests directly on the chopping block. The American people will see this latest scheme for what it is, a backdoor push to privatize our public lands.”

The agreement creates a “shared framework” that shifts significant decision-making power over to the state, expands logging and cements state influence in federal forest management decisions while limiting public participation.

“Utahns love our national forests — from the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache to the Manti-La Sal to the Dixie — and the incredible opportunities they provide for recreating with family and friends, often right out our back doors. It’s essential that our national forests remain in public hands and are not handed over to the state of Utah for short-term gain or other forms of destructive mismanagement,” said Steve Bloch, legal director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “We fear that the new Agreement unveiled today does exactly that: It sets the stage for Utah officials to have both a heavy hand and the loudest voice in how our national forests are managed, crowding out all other stakeholders. That’s not how this is supposed to work, and we’ll be watching closely to see how the agreement plays out on the ground.”

U.S. Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-UT) consistent and repeated efforts to sell off public lands have failed in every instance during the 119th Congress, uniting Americans across party lines to defend their shared national heritage. Today’s agreement echoes that effort, shifting control of public forests toward industry and privatization.

“The Shared Stewardship Agreement is nothing more than a sneaky way to clearcut roadless areas in National Forests in Utah,” said Mike Garrity, Executive Director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies. “Roadless areas provide clean drinking water and function as biological strongholds for populations of threatened and endangered species.”

“Good governance means including the public in discussions about the national forests we all care about,” said Laura Welp, Southern Utah Director of Western Watersheds Project. “Governor Cox is once again conducting business with the federal government behind closed doors, with little or no advance notice, bypassing meaningful public involvement. These stewardship agreements will accelerate large timber cutting projects, degrade habitats in roadless areas, and authorize other activities that lack broad national support. This approach mirrors a familiar pattern of attempting to shift control of federal public lands – in which every American has an equal interest – to the state. We call on both the Forest Service and the State of Utah to act transparently and to engage the public in open, meaningful discussions about the future of our shared public lands.”

The agreement released today was crafted without public input and solely between the Trump administration and the state of Utah. It follows on the heels of a closed-door meeting between Utah politicians and Department of the Interior officials last month, where they reportedly pressed for increased off-road vehicle use, paving a backcountry road and eliminating timed entry and other permit systems, all while attempting to maximize visitation in already overburdened national parks. It also follows the Trump administration’s June 2025 proposal to roll back the Roadless Rule, which cited Utah as a test case to justify opening wild public forests to logging, roads and industrial development.

Montana and Idaho recently finalized similar state-federal agreements handing significant decision-making power over to the states. Utah’s agreement pushes the approach further than ever before by explicitly empowering state influence over recreation and grazing uses on national forests — a significant expansion beyond the timber-focused frameworks in Montana and Idaho.

###

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards this world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org. 

 

The post Trump Administration, State of Utah Strike Dangerous Deal to Advance State Control of National Forests – 1.8.26 appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Plans for gas production and a pipeline in a remote part of the North York Moors National Park would have significant effects on the environment, government officials have ruled.

Ebberston South wellsite.
Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2025. © Maxar © OpenStreetMap © Mapbox

A direction, made on behalf of the local government secretary, concluded that a planning application for the Ebberston South wellsite near Dalby Forest must include a detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA).

The ruling, issued last month, confirmed an earlier decision by the North York Moors National Park Authority, which had been challenged by companies behind the scheme.

The proposal, by Scarborough Energy Limited and Egdon Resources, seeks to use the existing Ebberston South wellsite to produce a forecast 7 billion cubic feet or 143,509 tonnes of gas from 2027-2032. Daily extraction has been estimated at more than 107,000 cubic meters, the companies said.

Combustion of the gas produced at Ebberston South would result in more than 430,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, the companies said.

The pipeline would be 1.53km long, with a working width – the land needed for construction – of 30m (98+ft).

Environmentally-sensitive

Government officials said the Ebberston South site was in an environmentally sensitive area.

The well pad is almost entirely in the national park and inside a buffer zone surrounding the darkest skies of the park’s International Dark Sky Reserve.

The site is close to the Tabular Hills regional walking trail and part of the pipeline route is directly on the trail, which links to the nationally-designated Cleveland Way. Dalby Forest is a well-used recreational area, from which the project would be visible in places.

The pad is 400m from the Troutsdale and Rosekirk Fens Site of Special Scientific Interest and within that SSSI’s impact zone.

It is also next to the Oxmoor Dikes schedule monument, a substantial earthwork dating from the bronze age. The nearest listed buildings are about half a mile from the site.

The secretary of state’s screening direction said the main impacts would be use of natural resources and emissions to air, with potential impacts on groundwater, transboundary climate emissions and cumulative highway impacts.

Details of proposal

The EIA screening documents have revealed some details about the Ebberston South plans.

If approved, the tallest structure on the site during gas production would be an enclosed ground flare measuring 8.25m (27ft).

No further drilling is planned. But a 40m workover rig would be used on site, for a maximum of two weeks, to complete the existing well for what it called long-term production.

Other equipment would include:

• equipment room and storage unit
• two compressors
• water storage tank
• high and low pressure knockout drums to remove liquid droplets from gas stream
• two activated carbon beds
• two dehydration units
• heat exchanger
• gas quality skid and meter to measure flow
• 24-tonne propane tank
• flow lines

The existing containment system to prevent ground and water pollution would be replaced with a new liner and protective geotextiles, the companies said.

Perimeter ditches would be cleared and a surface water management system installed in the north- west corner of the site, they said.

The proposed 1.53km pipeline would go through Dalby Forest to the national gas network pipeline. The route was designed to avoid a plantation, the companies said. Construction would mainly use horizontal directional drilling, except near Oxmoor Dikes.

Each day, an estimated 6.5 tonnes of propane (totalling 11,980 tonnes) would be added to the produced gas to meet export specifications, documents revealed. The total sales gas volume would be 155,488 tonnes.

Total forecast emissions from burning the gas (scope 3, category 11) from the site would be 433,837tCO2e

The companies had said these emissions were “unlikely to have significant environment effects”.

Background

The Ebberston South wellsite is in the licence area, PEDL120. Data from the industry regulator lists Ineos Upstream as the licence holder.

The screening request was made by the planning director of Egdon Resources, on behalf of Scarborough Energy Limited.

Egdon is owned by the Texas-based Heyco Group. Egdon is seeking permission to drill for gas at Foxholes and is a partner in plans for gas drilling and lower-volume fracking at Burniston, both in North Yorkshire.

Scarborough Energy Limited was incorporated in 2022 and has issued two sets of company accounts for 2023 and 2024. The Companies House details list just one officer, Ian Martin Bell, also a director of the engineering design companies, IMB Net Zero Ltd and Primus International Ltd

Ebberston South first got planning permission in 2007.

The Ebberston South 1 well, a deviated borehole, was spudded in February 2009, by Moorland Energy. The well was suspended after testing and evaluation.

Further planning permissions were granted in 2010 and 2012. Planning permission for five years of gas production was granted in 2012 after a planning inquiry but was never implemented.

In 2015, the site received a further permission for gas production, water reinjection, drilling of a second borehole for water production and re-injection, and construction of a 13.9km pipeline to the then Knapton generating station.

Alaska is aggressively seeking control of federal lands beneath rivers and lakebeds in the state, a move that could dismantle environmental protections in national parks and preserves and undermine the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The Trump administration is fast-tracking the state’s request for control of this land, according to public inspection notices published in the Federal Register Tuesday.

Alaska is asserting that it received title to all navigable waters when it became a state in 1959, including the land beneath them. State officials argue that federal control of these lands creates jurisdictional ambiguity and that Alaska should have the same sovereignty over its waterways as other states. But former federal officials say that transferring these lands to the state could weaken environmental protections established by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

“This is part of the Dunleavy Administration’s effort to attack federal authority over natural resource management—including subsistence fishing and hunting under ANILCA,” Robert T. Anderson, who served as Interior solicitor in the Biden administration, told Bloomberg Law.

State ownership of these submerged lands would include any minerals found in them, according to legal experts.

BLM nominee has big ties to oil industry

Steve Pearce, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, earned as much as $1 million last year from a business associated with oil and gas development and owned interests in oil leases in New Mexico and Oklahoma, according to a financial disclosure form posted last week by the Office of Government Ethics.

Pearce reported that he earned between $100 thousand and $1 million from “Industrial equipment (Frac tanks lease to purchase)” in the disclosure. Pearce and his wife have divested their oil lease holdings in New Mexico, according to the disclosure. If confirmed, Pearce said in his ethics agreement that he will sell his interest in oil and gas leases in Oklahoma and turn over leadership of his oilfield services company to his wife.

Quick hits White House completes plan to curb bedrock environmental law

Associated Press | E&E News

Trump and Burgum took an ax to public lands in 2025—but there’s more to come

E&E News

Colorado Parks and Wildlife launches potential hunting opportunity for wild bison

KUNC

Accessing public land in Wyoming remains complicated, even after corner-crossing case settled

Outdoor Life

Public lands budgets largely skirt major cuts in bipartisan proposals

E&E News | KUNC

Trump admin official reportedly made millions from fast-tracked lithium mine

SFGate

Moose torture case puts Wyoming back in national spotlight

Mountain Journal

4,000 landowners control over 60% of Montana’s private land

Mountain Journal

Quote of the day

Congress is aware of the importance of renewable energy as part of the BLM’s contribution to energy generation, along with managing for conservation, recreation and wildlife. Hopefully the Department of the Interior can follow along.”

—Nada Wolff Culver, former principal deputy director of BLM, E&E News

Picture This
@Interior

A beautiful winter phenomenon, hoarfrost forms during clear, calm nights, turning America’s public lands into picturesque winter landscapes. The morning is the best time to look for hoarfrost because the sun melts the fragile crystals quickly. ❄️Photo by @yellowstonenps

Feature image: Togiak National Wildlife Refuge; Photo by: USFWS/Steve Hillebrand

The post Alaska seeks control of federally-protected lakes and rivers appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Self-described “cowboy lawyer” Karen Budd-Falen, now the third-highest official within the Interior department, faces allegations of corruption linked to fast-tracked permitting of the controversial Thacker Pass lithium mine. While serving in the first Trump administration as the deputy Interior solicitor responsible for wildlife, Budd-Falen’s husband struck a $3.5 million water-rights deal with developers of the mine. 

Without Interior’s approval of the mine, the mine developer could have terminated the deal. In November 2019, Budd-Falen had lunch with the mine’s executives, according to documents obtained by Public Domain. Interior fast-tracked the mine’s approval in 2020, while Budd-Falen was a top-ranking official. Despite this direct connection, Budd-Falen’s official financial disclosures between 2018 and 2021 failed to mention the $3.5 million deal. 

“It’s not clear that Karen Budd-Falen knew she had a conflict, but it’s clear she should have known, and that the public should have known,” Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, told the New York Times. “It’s also clear that she should not have met with Lithium Nevada.”

Now, serving as associate deputy secretary of the Interior, Budd-Falen again wields vast power over the nation’s public lands while maintaining a large portfolio of potential conflicts. Her financial disclosures, which the Interior department released only after requests from reporters, show that she and her husband hold Wyoming ranch land valued up to $5 million as well as thousands of dollars in Exxon Mobil and Tyson Foods stock.

Quick hits Venezuela takeover has Wyoming oil industry bracing for negative impacts

WyoFile

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum calls for American oil production in Venezuela

Fox Business | Fox News

Interior official did not disclose husband’s ties to a Nevada lithium mine

Deseret News

Tribes stake their claim on the Colorado River, and help conserve it

Utah News Dispatch

Colorado’s wolf pipeline is collapsing. Is a pause in lethal control needed?

Colorado Sun

Apache leader walks 60 miles to court hearing that will decide fate of Oak Flat

Native News Online

An age-old monument faces modern threats

High Country News

Wildfire smoke is a national crisis, and it’s worse than you think

Grist

Quote of the day

The United States of America clearly violated procedures and laws and ignored not only the Native Americans, but also the state of Arizona and the people of this country. Their decision to give full exemptions from the law [at Oak Flat] has opened the door forever for corporations to follow suit.”

—Wendsler Nosie, Sr. (San Carlos Apache), founder of Apache Stronghold

Picture This

@Interior

Dry January? The Bohemian waxwing did not get the memo.

These sleek songbirds spend winter in large flocks, plucking berries that can naturally ferment in cold weather. Nature has its own happy hour.

Photo by Lisa Hupp / @USFWS

Feature image: Karen Budd-Falen speaks at the 2024 Western Ag and Environmental Law Conference; Source: U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Drew Viguet

The post Top Interior official faces corruption allegations over Thacker Pass water deal appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Two leading councillors have supported calls for delays to the decision on plans for gas drilling and lower-volume fracking in the North Yorkshire village of Burniston.

But the company behind the scheme, Europa Oil & Gas, has said a delay is not justified.

Europa’s proposed gas site at Burniston, near the North York Moors National Park. Photo: DrillOrDrop “Don’t rush”

In a joint statement this week, the chair of Burniston Parish Council, Richard Parsons, and local county councillor Derek Bastiman said the planning hearing by North Yorkshire Council , expected soon, “must not be rushed”.

Joint statement by Cllr Richard Parsons and Cllr Derek Bastiman 5 Jan 2026Download

Just before Christmas, lawyers at Friends of the Earth said the Burniston decision should be delayed until a revision was agreed to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

A draft of proposed changes, published in December 2025, removed the previous requirement that decisionmakers should give “great weight” to the benefits of onshore oil and gas operations.

Cllrs Parson and Bastiman said Europa’s application for Burniston relied heavily on this “great weight” position.

They said the current NPPF “tilted towards approval” of fossil fuel projects. It made it harder for planning authorities to refuse them and easier to reduce the value of objections, the councillors said.

The government’s proposed changes would mean “equal value should be given to all submitted material”, they added.

So far, more than 1,600 formal objections have been made to Europa’s planning application.

The councillors said:

“Legal advice already obtained is clear, these changes [to the NPPF] must be taken into account, this planning hearing must not be rushed.”

They advised North Yorkshire Council against being “pushed into making a decision that the updated NPPF will not support”.

A public consultation on the NPPF revision closes on 10 March 2026.

The Burniston councillors recommended North Yorkshire should:

“Wait a short time until the updated NPPF is available to take an impartial decision on this matter. Wait until everybody, whatever their position on the planning application is, understands fully what is required.

“A short delay enables North Yorkshire Council to make its decision on a sound legal footing, which is open and transparent, knowing they have acted on up to date guidance from the NPPF and in the best interests of everyone.”

“No reason for delay”

Also this week, Europa Oil & Gas responded to Friends of the Earth’s call for a delay to the Burniston decision.

Response by Europa Oil and Gas to FoE letter 5 Jan 2026Download

Europa accused the campaign group of applying “a highly biased and nuanced perspective” to interpretation of the draft NPPF.

It said Friends of the Earth failed to acknowledge a separate policy that gives decisionmakers a “clear presumption in favour” of approving mineral extraction plans outside settlements unless benefits would be substantially outweighed by any adverse effects.

Europa said “there are very few adverse effects associated with the proposed development at Burniston, and none that outweigh the benefits”.

The company also disagreed that the NPPF revision would change the planning balance for the Burniston application.

It said:

“the planning balance remains firmly in favour of granting planning permission for this development”.

It added:

“There is no justification for delaying this planning application until the final version of the NPPF is published. …

“When considering proposals, local planning authorities should issue timely decisions. The draft NPPF is not a reason to delay decision-making; after all, one of the main reasons for the Government making these policy changes is to support the commercial development needed to drive growth.”

• Burniston campaigners have urged residents to support the Friends of the Earth letter on delaying the decision. They have also called on North Yorkshire Council to hold the decision meeting at Scarborough Spa. No date or venue has yet been publicly announced. North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director of community development, Nic Harne, told The Scarborough website: “We recognise the significant public interest in this particular planning application.A date has not yet been set for the application to be heard by members of the strategic planning committee.  However, this date will be made public once it has been confirmed.”

Clean Air Council is thrilled to announce we have been awarded the William Penn Foundations’ Investment in Public Parks Grant. This funding will allow the Council and community partners to expand the existing play and learning spaces at safe crossing entrances to Cobbs Creek Park. This project will transform park entrances to include mural art on the paved trail and areas for children and families to learn and play together. 

The Council has once again teamed up with Amber Art and Design and Tiny WPA to develop, design, and build art and play spaces in the vision of community members. Throughout the next several months we will be gaining inspiration and ideas from residents in order to guide the new play space designs.  There are multiple opportunities for residents to inform the design and locations of the new little nature playgrounds including at in-person community design workshops, see details below. 

1) January 27th 4-6:30pm at Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center (700 Cobbs Creek Parkway) 

2) February 24th 4-6pm at Paschalville Library (6942 Woodland Ave)

3) March 10th 5-7pm at Cobbs Creek Library (5800 Cobbs Creek Pkwy)

4) April 25th join us at Celebrate Trails Day for a final community feedback opportunity! (Thomas Ave and Cobbs Creek Parkway)

The project team has created a short survey as a starting place to learn more about what neighbors would like to see included in the design. We invite area neighbors and Cobbs Creek Park users to complete the survey and attend any and all of the workshops which will include an evening of creativity, story sharing, and imagination as we collectively envision and design mural art on trails and play areas for children and families.

DrillOrDrop’s diary of events in 2026 involving the UK onshore oil and gas industry and campaigns about it.

We will be updating as new events are added so please keep checking for new dates.

Cuadrilla’s abandoned Preston New Road shale gas site, near Blackpool, due to be restored to farmland.
Photo: Maple Independent Media Tuesday 13 January 2026

North Yorkshire strategic planning committee. We’re watching this meeting for a possible decision on Europa Oil & Gas plans for gas exploration and proppant squeeze at Burniston . 10am, Scarborough (tbc). Link to meeting details MEETING CANCELLED

Wednesday 14 January 2026

North Lincolnshire Council planning meeting. We’re watching this meeting for a possible decision on Egdon Resources’ application for more drilling and production at the Wressle oil site near Scunthorpe. 2pm, Church Square House, High Street, Scunthorpe. WRESSLE APPLICATION NOT LISTED Link to meeting details

Friday 23 January 2026

Planners’ report on Burniston. Recommendation expected of North Yorkshire Council planners to the strategic planning committee on Europa’s plans for gas drilling and lower-volume fracking.

Monday 26 January 2026

Dorset Council strategic planning meeting. We’re watching this meeting for news about Egdon Resources’ application to extend the life of its Waddock Cross site. 10am, County Hall, Dorchester DT1 1XL. The decision is likely to be delayed because the local government secretary is to rule on whether the application needs an environmental impact assessment. Link to meeting details CANCELLED

Tuesday 27 January 2026

Frack Free Coastal Communities meeting. Open meeting to discuss forthcoming decision meeting on Europa’s plans to drill for gas and carry out lower-volume fracking. 7pm-8.30pm, Burniston Methodist Church.

Wednesday 28 January 2026

Surrey County Council planning committee. We’re watching this meeting for news about plans by UK Oil & Gas to reapply for planning permission for production and new drilling at the Horse Hill site near Redhill. 10.30am, Council Chamber, Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 8EF. Link to meeting

Friday 30 January 2026

North Yorkshire Council strategic planning committee. Expected decision on Europa’s plans to drill and use lower-volume fracking at Burniston, near Scarborough. Details

Wednesday 4 February 2026

West Sussex County Council planning committee. We’re watching this meeting for news about the clean up of the UK Oil & Gas site at Broadford Bridge, near Billingshurst. 10.30am,  County Hall, Chichester, PO19 1RQ. Link to meeting

Friday 13 February 2026

Balcombe well test deadline. Work must start by this date on the Balcombe well test in West Sussex under the terms of planning permission decided by a planning inspector. Link to decision details

Tuesday 10 March 2026

Nottinghamshire County Council planning committee. 10.30am, Oak House, 1 Michaelmas Way, Linby, Nottinghamshire NG15 8LG. Link to meeting details. We’re watching this meeting for a possible decisions on variation to plans by:

• Star Energy to restore the Egmanton oil and gas field
• Egdon Resources to restore sites at Dukes Wood and Kirklington

Restoration of a Nottinghamshire oilfield needs another five years, Star Energy has told officials.

The company is seeking an extension of planning permission until the end of 2030 to decommission the Egmanton field, between Lincoln and Newark, and return it to arable farmland.

Egmanton oilfield sites. Map: Star Energy application

A previous consent required the field’s remaining 11 well sites to cease operations by the end of 2025 and be restored in the following 12 months.

Operations at the field have stopped. But in a new application, Star Energy said its proposed extension was a “more realistic timescale given the cost and work required to fully restore each site”.

It said if permission were extended there would be “no recommencement of oil extraction at any of the 11 sites”.

The company said five of the 11 wells had already been plugged and abandoned. The other six had been shut in, with all surface equipment and values closed to stop the flow of oil.

The company described the visual impact of the continued retention of the sites as “very minimal” and “not readily discernible within the existing agricultural buildings and operations”.

According to the application, restoration work had been due to start on two sites (5 and 14) in autumn 2025, to be completed in spring 2026.

Work on another two sites (1 and 35) would begin in summer 2026, to be completed in winter 2026, the company said. Well 64 would be completed by autumn 2027.

Work on the remaining wells would be completed by spring 2029 (3, 7, 27) and spring 2030 (32, 44, 52).

The former Egmanton gathering centre, which received hydrocarbons from the sites by pipeline, stopped operations in 2007 and has been restored.

Star Energy said there would be no change to the original restoration and aftercare scheme.

The first planning permission for Egmanton was granted in the 1950s.

According to a company report, the field produced a total of 3.3m barrels over its lifetime. At its peak, it extracted 750 barrels per day. Production in 2012, at the time of the report, was less than 1% of early production.

Source: North Sea Transition Authority

Official data shows the field produced no oil in 2024 or 2025. Annual production was below 50m3 in 2019-2023.

The field saw an enhanced recovery project in the 1980s but this was abandoned because of “prohibitive costs and the low injectivity of the formation”.

In 2022, the site was used in a trial of the Xclude system of well abandonment.

• The next scheduled planning committee meeting of Nottinghamshire County Council is on Tuesday 10 March 2026.