DRILL OR DROP?

The government has won a debate on its legislation to require annual licensing rounds for new North Sea oil and gas fields.

Former COP president, Alok Sharma, speaking in today’s debate.
Photo: Parliament TV

In a vote of 293 to 211, the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill received its second reading. 

Several Conservatives have already said they would not support the bill. There was also opposition from beyond Westminster.

Extinction Rebellion, Scientist Rebellion, Just Stop Oil and Fossil Free London held a protest outside parliament earlier today.

Four Northern Mayors urged the government to drop the bill, saying it would lock the UK into decades of fossil fuel dependency.

And a report by leading economists said investment in unsustainable economies, like North Sea oil and gas, risked stranded assets.

Debate Claire Coutinho, energy security and net zero secretary.
Photo: Parliament TV

The UK energy security secretary , Claire Coutinho, has previously admitted that new North Sea oil would not bring down house energy bills. Today she said the bill would improve energy security and secure jobs.

She said it was also compatible with UK climate policy:

“If the thing that you care about is making sure that we reduce emissions, the question that everybody in this chamber needs to answer is why would you want to import fuel with higher emissions from abroad?”

She accused Labour and its energy spokesperson, Ed Miliband, of “putting the interests of extreme climate ideologues over that of ordinary workers”.

Ed Milliband, Labour’s energy security and net zero spokesperson.
Photo: Parliament TV

Mr Miliband said the bill would be ineffective and represented “climate vandalism. He said: “[it] won’t cut bills, it won’t give us energy security, it drives a coach and horses through our climate commitments, and it learns nothing from the worst cost of living crisis in living memory”.

Responding to Claire Coutinho, he said:

“it isn’t the scale of our problems that is apparent today, it’s the smallness of their response. A risible bill that she knows is not going to make any difference to our energy security.”

Alok Sharma, President of COP 26
Photo: Parliament TV

The Conservative MP, Alok Sharma, a former business secretary and COP president, said he would not be voting for the bill. He said:

“I do not believe, and it pains me to say this, that this bill will advance that commitment to transition away from fossil fuels”

He told the debate the “sole purpose” of the legislation was to “double down on grant funding more oil and gas production licences” and he did not “believe” that the bill would “advance that commitment to transition away from fossil fuels”.

He said it pained him to say the bill was “somewhat of a distraction” because “the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) can already grant licences annually or indeed when they think it necessary, and they’ve been doing that regularly over the past few years”.

With record global temperatures in 2023 and recent floods, he said:

“We really shouldn’t need any more wakeup calls to put aside the distractions and act with the urgency the situation demands.”

The Green Party’s MP, Caroline Lucas, said the bill was “entirely redundant”. Even the regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, expressed the “unanimous view that it is not needed”.

She said any new oil and gas would be sold on the international market:

“This oil and gas in the North Sea does not belong to the government and it will not bring down prices.”

It sent a dangerous signal to countries abroad, she said, by hampering climate diplomacy.

Earlier Ms Lucas posted on X that the government’s argument that the bill would deliver cleaner energy was “simply untrue”.

“We import most of our gas from Norway, where gas production is half as polluting as in the UK & most emissions come in the burning of the gas, not its production.”

Sarah Champion, Labour, described the bill as “illogical” and called for total ban on oil and gas drilling in marine protected areas.

Vicky Ford, Conservative, said she had had sleepless nights over “leaving the planet in a better state for future generations” but she said she was still backing the bill.

Wider opposition

Outside Westminster, four Northern Mayors, Andy Burnham (Greater Manchester), Tracey Brabin (West Yorkshire), Jamie Driscoll (North of Tyne) and Steve Rotherham (Liverpool), said the bill would not achieve the Government’s stated aims of improving energy security.

It would, they said, worsen climate change and undermine the UK’s international reputation while failing to lower household energy bills.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, called the Bill “a distraction from investing in the future of communities across the north of England” and “a complete insult”.

He said:

“While the country grapples with the wettest winter in 130 years – with devastating floods causing untold damage – the Earth just witnessed its hottest year ever in 2023, and increasing energy costs are piling pressures on household budgets.

“New oil and gas licences will not address these issues or take Britain towards energy independence, since what is extracted will predominantly be sold on the international market to the highest bidder.”

Parliamentary protest, 22 January 2024. Photo: Fossil Free London

At today’s protest outside parliament, Joanna Warrington, spokesperson for Fossil Free London, said: 

“The UK Government’s Offshore Petroleum Licences Bill is nothing short of deadly. Pressing ahead with fossil fuel expansion plans in the midst of climate breakdown just makes us less energy secure and fuels the UK’s freak floods as more of our coastal homes drop into the sea. The government is making the interests they serve plain –  it’s oily millionaires burning our house down for profit. ”

Just Stop Oil said:

“On the day the government is voting to make it a legal requirement to licence new oil and even more dumping of carbon into our atmosphere every single year; Storm Isha is causing havoc across the UK.

“Two people have died, tens of thousands of people remain without power and Storm Jocelyn will arrive tomorrow.

“This government is intent on destroying our communities for profit. They must be removed from power if we are to survive.”

Pete Knapp of Scientists for Extinction Rebellion said:

“New oil and gas will do nothing to bring down our energy bills, or help with our energy security as most of the oil will be sold on the world market. New oil and gas is also incompatible with keeping within 1.5C. The government is either scientifically illiterate, is playing political games with our futures, or just doesn’t care, but, most likely – all three.”

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said the government’s promise to ‘max out’ the North Sea will result in new reserves equal to just 2% of the UK’s total gas demand between 2024 and 2050.

A new report by a group of leading economists criticised government for allowing continued investment into unsustainable economies. It said:

“Too much current investment continues to be in the unsustainable economy, such as development of new oil and gas fields in the North Sea and the construction of homes and offices that are not energy-efficient or climate-resilient – this raises costly risks. These include creating stranded assets, significant financial losses in polluting and emissions-intensive sectors, and an insecure, unaffordable and unsustainable energy supply.”

Reabold Resources, a key investor in the West Newton oil and gas field in East Yorkshire, is to receive £4.4m from Shell in the coming days.

West Newton-B wellsite in 2020. Photo: West Newton and Sproatley Gateway to the Gas Fields

The payment, announced today, is the final tranche of money from Reabold’s sale of Corallian Energy.

It follows development consent for Corallian’s  Victory gas field, west of Shetland.

Reabold said it has already received £8.3m as part of the deal. It said it would use the money to “advance the development of assets across its portfolio, as well as distributing excess cash to shareholders”.

In a statement, Reabold referred to its investments in West Newton and Colle Santo, in southern Italy. It described them as “significant gas resources”. They would, the company said, “make a meaningful contribution to improve energy security in Western Europe”.

Reabold Resources has a 16.665% stake in the West Newton licence, PEDL183, and holds 59% of the shares in the licence operator, Rathlin Energy.

Rathlin is required by the industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, to drill and test a new appraisal well at West Newton by June 2024. It has also committed to the same deadline to recomplete or drill a sidetrack to one of the existing three wells and carry out testing.

Company accounts for Rathlin revealed that it needs more money to drill at West Newton. Rathlin’s share of the work is likely to cost about £9m, the accounts estimated in September 2023. At the time, the company reported it had £3.8m in cash.

Reabold’s co-chief executive, Stephen Williams, said of the final payment from Shell:

“This represents a significant moment in the delivery of the Reabold strategy to identify, fund and monetise underappreciated, but strategically important assets.

“We remain focussed on progressing other key projects in the Reabold portfolio in 2024 and realising further value to reward shareholders for their ongoing support of the Company.”

Earlier this month, Mr Williams and other members of the Reabold board fought off a second challenge from a group of shareholders, which wanted to farm-out operations at West Newton if drilling were successful.

A legal challenge to oil production in the Lincolnshire Wolds area of outstanding natural beauty is being supported by the head of the renewables company, Ecotricity.

Dale Vince, owner of Ecotricity. Photo: Ecotricity

A small group of local people has applied to the High Court to overturn the decision by a planning inspector to allow oil extraction by Egdon Resources at Biscathorpe.

Dale Vince, the owner of Ecotricity, told DrillOrDrop

“We’re supporting a legal challenge, led by SOS Biscathorpe, to protect the Lincolnshire Wolds from the destructive effects of oil drilling..”

Ecotricity said the company would provide financial support for the legal challenge, as well as support from its campaign team.

SOS Biscathorpe said:

“We’re absolutely delighted to have trail-blazer, Dale Vince, supporting our campaign.”

The proposal for long-term oil production at Biscathorpe was refused by Lincolnshire County Council in November 2021. Councillors said it would harm the area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) and that noise from the site would be unacceptable.

A petition against the scheme collected more than 1,800 signatures. It was also opposed by the local MP and now health secretary, Victoria Atkins, as well as Lincoln Climate Commission, the countryside charity CPRE, Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and five parish councils closest to the site.

Egdon Resources, now owned by the US-based Heyco Energy Group, appealed against the refusal. The government-appointed planning inspector ruled in November 2023 that the scheme should go ahead. He said the need for oil outweighed damage to AONB and the scheme was in the national interest.

Since then, the government has admitted that most of the oil extracted from new UK fields would be sold on the international market, rather than to UK consumers.

Mr Vince said:

 “This disaster of a project flies in the face of global efforts to combat climate change. Lincolnshire Council rightly turned the project down but in a shocking turn of events, a government-appointed Planning Inspector granted permission. This was the wrong decision and it should be overturned.”

Opponents of drilling for oil at Biscathorpe. Photo: SOS Biscathorpe

A spokesperson for SOS Biscathorpe said:

“Having the support of someone like Dale Vince, with his track record of unwavering passion for the planet and commitment to positive change, is a huge boost for us and aligns perfectly with our campaign to save Biscathorpe.”

Mathilda Dennis, on behalf of the group, submitted papers to the high court in December 2023.

SOS Biscathorpe is raising money for the legal challenge. At the time of writing, the group’s crowdfunder had received 187 donations, raising more than £8,200 of the £20,000 target. In the past 7 hours, 15 people donated £415 online.

Updated to correct appeal court to high court and Lincolnshire Climate Commission to Lincoln Climate Commission

Cuadrilla’s plan to decommission its fracked wells in Lancashire is already behind schedule.

Cuadrilla’s mothballed fracking site at Preston New Road, February 2022. Photo: Maxine Gill

Last year, the company said the two wells at Preston New Road, near Blackpool, would be plugged and abandoning by March 2024.

But a new document, seen by DrillOrDrop, states the work will not start until this summer (2024).

Lancashire County Council has said it will raise concerns about the delay with Cuadrilla.

Hydraulic fracturing on both the Preston New Road wells caused small earthquakes. These included the UK’s strongest fracking-induced seismic event, measuring 2.9 on the local magnitude scale, in August 2019.

Fracking was immediately suspended at the site, which has been largely mothballed ever since.

The industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority ordered Cuadrilla to plug and abandon the wells by December 2024.

Decommissioning timeline

In June 2023, Cuadrilla secured a two-year extension to its planning permission for Preston New Road. The county council gave the company until June 2025 to decommission the wells, clear the site and restore it to farmland.

As part of its application, the company produced a timeline for the work, which showed that well plugging and abandonment would begin in September 2023 and take six months, to March 2024.

Cuadrilla’s timeline for well decommissioning and site restoration

In September 2023, Cuadrilla repeated the March 2024 deadline, subject to rig availability.

But a recent progress update, required as a condition of the extended planning permission, stated that decommissioning was not now due to start for six-nine months.

The update was due on 7 December. Cuadrilla sent a letter to senior council planner, Jonathan Haine, dated 13 December. It said:

“Initial rig procurement has started with the intention to join a wider programme of wellbore abandonments across the UK with other operators. Work continues to co-ordinate the decommissioning programme, resources, and equipment with a target date of summer 2024 to begin abandoning the wellbores at Preston New Road.”

Mr Haine told local residents who asked about progress on the site:

“I have compared the information in the planning application and I have some concerns that they are behind the project timeline so I will be raising that with them.”  

Jeff Turner, who lives near the Preston New Road site, said:

“Condition 14 [of the planning permission] states that Cuadrilla’s report be submitted no later 7th December. The letter is dated 13th December. Not a good start.

“Cuadrilla say they have a target date of summer 2024 to begin abandoning the well bores. This is very vague as “summer” is not a “date”.  The LCC/2023/0002 Restoration Timeline shows the well decommissioning should have begun in September last year.

“It seems to me that six months in and Cuadrilla are six months behind.

“It will be interesting to hear what response Jonathan Haine gets from them when he raises the issues with them, now he’s had best part of a month to digest the letter.”

Susan Holliday, of Preston New Road Action Group, which opposed Cuadrilla’s operations, said:

“It is good to see that Cuadrilla have provided an update as per the requirements of their planning extension.

“Over the last 6 months there has been little visible activity on the site as is evidenced by this update. Local residents are understandably concerned that once again procrastination will mean that key dates are not met.

“We hope that them working with other operators for the procurement of equipment will not lead to further delays.

“We will be watching for the commencement of removal of things such as the flare stack this summer, the wells plugged and abandoned by the end of the year and the site back to a green field by June 2025.

“None of this can come soon enough as it will be over 10 years since the planning application was first raised, a large chunk of peoples lives disrupted.” 

Miranda Cox, of the campaign group, Frack Free Lancashire, said:

“We welcome the timely update and will be monitoring progress closely. The decommissioning work and necessary regulatory permits will take a significant number of weeks to obtain so Cuadrilla do not have a great deal of time to fulfil their obligations. We look forward to the next update in six months’ time.”

DrillOrDrop invited Cuadrilla to comment on the difference in the decommissioning timelines. We will update this article with any response. The company said in its update letter:

“It remains Cuadrilla’s intention to restore the site back to its original condition by 30th June 2025.”

A major backer of the West Newton oil and gas project in East Yorkshire has fought off another challenge by a group of shareholders.

The West Newton-B site in East Yorkshire, October 2020. Photo: Used with the owner’s consent

A requisitioned general meeting for Reabold Resources failed to pass 11 resolutions to remove existing directors and replace them with Kamran Sattar, Andrea Cattaneo, Francesca Yardle and Dr Jose Ramon Lopez-Portillo Romano.

All the resolutions were rejected by more than 78% of the vote.

Between 3.3 million and 4.3 million votes were withheld and not counted on resolutions to remove Sachin Oza, Stephen Williams, Jeremy Edelman, Michael Craig, Mozetic and Anthony Samaha.

This morning’s meeting was the second time that Reabold shareholders have voted to maintain the company’s board.

In November 2022, voting on 11 resolutions was just over 75% against.

In that vote, shareholders were asked to appoint Mr Sattar, Ms Yardle, Cathal Friel and John McGoldrick.

Since then, the group behind the challenge, known as the requisitioning shareholders, have increased their stake in Reabold from 6.93% to 7.91%.

Between 13 December 2023 and 9 January 2024, Reabold has used a buy back scheme to purchase more than 160 million shares, representing 1.57% of the shares in the company.

West Newton

The requisitioning shareholders had criticised operations and planning at the West Newton operation, in which Reabold has a 65% interest.

They recommended continuing drilling at the field but then farm out operations if wells were successful.

Drilling at one of the pads, West Newton-B, has been delayed at least three times, according to recent company announcements.

One well was spudded (start of drilling) in October 2020 but another as never drilled. This second well was later scheduled for the second half of 2021, then autumn 2023 and is now expected this year (2024).

The West Newton operator, Rathlin Energy, is required by the industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, to drill and test a new appraisal well into the Kirkham Abbey formation by June 2024. Rathlin has also committed to the same deadline to recomplete or drill a sidetrack to one of the existing three wells and carry out testing.

But Rathlin has revealed that it needs more money to drill at West Newton. Company accounts, published in September 2023, reported that Rathlin’s share of the work was likely to cost about £9m. The company reported at the time that it had £3.8m in cash.

Reabold reaction

Reabold’s non-executive chairman, Jeremy Edelman, said:

“Today’s requisitioned General Meeting result represents the resounding support for the existing Board of Directors by its shareholders.

“The results represent an even greater margin of votes against the Requisitioning Shareholders’ resolutions than was the case at the last requisitioned general meeting in November 2022.

“The Requisitioning Shareholders, who own approximately 7.91% of the Company’s currently issued share capital, received average support for the proposed resolutions from shareholders representing approximately a further 5.77% of the Company’s issued share capital.”

He said:

“This process has, once again, been a serious and costly distraction for Reabold, significantly delaying the management team’s ability to execute the Company’s strategy. The Board believes the Company is well positioned with its portfolio of strategic gas assets and strong cash position. The Company’s efforts can now be entirely directed towards unlocking this value for all shareholders.”

Shares in Reabold Resources rose on the news but later fell back. At the time of writing, they were up 3.13% at 0.0825p.

Opponents of gas exploration near the Surrey village of Dunsfold have been refused permission for a further appeal.

View of the proposed drilling site. Photo: High Billingshurst Farm

Campaigners and the local council were seeking to overturn ministerial planning permission for drilling by UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) on the edge of their village at the proposed Loxley wellsite.

The local campaign group, Protect Dunsfold, and Waverley Borough Council failed at the High Court to reverse the decision and had applied for a further hearing at the Court of Appeal.

Today, an appeal court judge refused permission to take the case further. Lord Justice Stuart-Smith said an appeal had no prospect of success.

UKOG chief executive, Stephen Sanderson, said this afternoon:

“We are pleased that Lord Justice Stuart-Smith has once again dismissed the legal challenge to our Loxley project and has confirmed that its planning consent is entirely lawful, as the Company and its counsel has maintained.

“We believe that a successful project will be beneficial to local and national level energy and economic interests and is fully in keeping with the government’s Hydrogen, Energy Security and Net Zero strategies.”

He said the Court of Appeal’s decision was final and could not be reviewed or appealed. The planning permission would now “remain in full force and effect for its full term”, he said.

Cllr Paul Follows, leader of Waverley Borough Council, outside the High Court in June 2023.
Photo: DrillOrDrop

Cllr Paul Follows, leader of Waverley Borough Council (WBC), said:

“I am deeply distressed and angry to have to report to residents that the Court of Appeal has dismissed the final avenues of appeal in regard to the proposed local extraction of fossil fuels by UKOG.”

He said the council would write to Jeremy Hunt, the local MP and chancellor, asking for an explanation for the decision.

Mr Follows said:

“He [Jeremy Hunt] and his government have allowed this travesty

“We will of course also continue to pursue every legal avenue to resist this decision.”

Jeremy Hunt at a protest against the Dunsfold proposals on 8 January 2022. Photo: DrillOrDrop

Mr Hunt said on X (formerly Twitter):

“I am bitterly disappointed to learn that the Court of Appeal has today refused permission for any further appeal against the UKOG planning consent for the Loxley gas well outside Dunsfold.

“I stand ready to provide my assistance and support to local communities in any way possible going forwards.”

Sarah Godwin, director of Protect Dunsfold, said:

“It seems incredible that within the current context of extreme weather conditions throughout the Northern Hemisphere, planning policy still supports such speculative and unnecessary onshore oil and gas exploration.

“The Court’s decision shows that the government needs to radically overhaul national planning policy to redress the balance so that the planning authorities always have to take the full climate and environmental impact of such proposals fully into account. 

“We will continue to work to change government policies, and fight for recognition of the very real and imminent threat to our environment, businesses and everyday life related to the continued search for fossil fuels.”

Extinction Rebellion activist and local resident Kirsty Clough said:

“As widely reported this week, 2023 was the hottest year on record globally and the Met Office has said that there is a good chance that this year could be even hotter.

“We are of course extremely disappointed. This is not justice. Climate change is happening now and burning fossil fuels is by far the biggest contributor.

“When will our government and judicial system wake up to the fact that we are already in a climate emergency where every tonne of carbon put into the atmosphere counts.”

“Despite the government repeatedly saying the opposite it is widely acknowledged that more UK oil and gas won’t help energy security or bring down bills.

“Even Alok Sharma, former Conservative Business and Energy Security Secretary, said on Monday that the government doesn’t have any control over where fossil fuels extracted here go to because they are owned by private companies.” 

The housing minister, Stuart Andrew, granted planning permission for the Dunsfold in June 2022, after a public inquiry. Surrey County Council had twice refused consent for the proposal.

This article will be updated with more reaction as we get it.

Campaigners challenging well testing in the West Sussex village of Balcombe believe their case has been helped by a minister’s recent admission on production from new oil fields.

Oil drilling at Balcombe in 2013. Photo: David Burr

A junior energy minister, Amanda Solloway, suggested that most of the oil extracted from new UK fields would be sold on the international market, rather than to UK consumers.

In a written answer to a parliamentary question, she said:

“It is not desirable to force private companies to ‘allocate’ oil and gas produced in the North Sea for domestic use.”

She was responding to a question by Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown, who asked whether new gas and oil produced in the North Sea would be allocated for domestic use.

The issue of national energy security is central to the challenge against oil operations at Balcombe.

Frack Free Balcombe Residents’ Association (FFBRA) is seeking to overturn planning permission for a well test that would confirm whether the Balcombe well was commercially viable.

A planning inspector ruled in February 2023 that national need for oil outweighed harm to the surrounding protected High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).   

A FFBRA spokesperson said:

“We in Balcombe have been told that national energy security requires us to sacrifice our countryside and our health for as little as 50 barrels of oil a day.

“Yet in parliament we heard that 500 million barrels won’t help national energy security or reduce domestic oil prices. 

“The reason the planning inspector gave to overrule the protection of the High Weald AONB is now acknowledged to be completely incorrect.

“The madness of onshore shale oil development has been exposed and needs to stop.”

The Balcombe well test was classed as a major development in the AONB. Under planning law, it should be approved only in exceptional circumstances and where it was in the national interest. The inspector ruled that national need for oil justified the development.

FFBRA failed at the High Court last year to overturn the inspector’s decision. The group is now seeking permission to take its challenge to the Court of Appeal.

In a separate case, a planning inspector ruled that the national need for oil outweighed the impact of oil production at Biscathorpe on the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB. Campaigners have submitted papers to the High Court to challenge this decision.

The government has repeatedly claimed that new oil and gas licences would deliver energy security.

But analysis, published today by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, found that opening more than 100 new fields in the North Sea and to the west of Shetland would supply only around 1% of fuel to UK refineries for domestic use.

MPs will vote today on the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, that would require annual licensing rounds for the North Sea. A former energy minister, Chris Skidmore, resigned on Friday, saying he could not support the bill.

The former energy minister, Chris Skidmore, has resigned over new legislation to offer more offshore oil and gas licences, prompting another by-election.

Chris Skidmore signing the net zero strategy into law. Photo: UK government

In a statement released tonight on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Skidmore said:

“I cannot vote for a bill that clearly promotes the production of new oil and gas.”

The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill will be debated in the House of Commons on Monday (8 January 2024). It requires the industry regulator to invite oil and gas companies to apply for oil and gas licences every year.

In an attack on UK fossil fuel policy, Mr Skidmore said:

 “This bill would in effect allow more frequent new oil and gas licences and the increased production of new fossil fuels in the North Sea.”

“I cannot vote for the bill next week. The future will judge harshly those that do.”

He said he was resigning the party whip and would be “standing down from parliament as soon as possible”.

Mr Skidmore, who signed into law the UK’s commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, said:

“I can also no longer condone nor continue to support a government that is committed to a course of action that I know is wrong and will cause future harm. To fail to act, rather than merely speak out, is to tolerate the status quo that cannot be sustained.”

He said it was a “tragedy” that the “UK has been allowed to lose its climate leadership”:

“The bill that will be debated next week achieves nothing apart from to send a global signal that the UK is rowing ever further back from its climate commitments.

“We cannot expect other countries to phase out their fossil fuels when at the same time we continue to issue new licences or to open new oil fields.”

The government announced plans for annual licensing offers in November 2023 and legislation was included in the King’s Speech two days later.

Mr Skidmore, who carried out a review of the UK government’s net zero policy, said:

“At a time when we should be committing to more climate action, we simply do not have any more time to waste promoting the future production of fossil fuels that is the ultimate cause of the environmental crisis that we are facing.”

There was no case, he said, for increasing fossil fuel production “at a time when investment should be made elsewhere, in the industries and businesses of the future, and not of the past.”

He said the International Energy Agency, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UK’s Climate Change Committee had all said there must be no new additional oil and gas production beyond current commitments if we are to reach net zero by 2050 and limit temperature rise to 1.5C.

He added:

“As fossil fuels become more obsolete, expanding new oil and gas licences or opening new oil fields will only create stranded assets of the future, harming local and regional communities that should instead by supported to transition their skills and expertise to renewable and clean energy.”

Mr Skidmore’s resignation means Rishi Sunak faces another by-election. It will be at least the eighth in 12 months.

Of the by-elections held so far, the Conservatives retained one seat, Labour gained four and the Lib Dems gained one.

Mr Skidmore has held the constituency of Kingswood, in south Gloucestershire, since 2010, taking the seat from Labour. He had a majority of more than 11,000 at the 2019 general election.

Kingswood will disappear in upcoming boundary changes and Mr Skidmore had already said he did not plan to stand at the general election.

A company that wants to delay restoration of an oil well to explore using geothermal heat for tea growing has been accused of “clutching at tea leaves”.

Protests outside UKOG site at Broadford Bridge in West Sussex. Photo: Broadford Bridge Action Group

UK Oil & Gas plc (UKOG) is seeking to extend the life of the Broadford Bridge site, near Billinghurst, in West Sussex, for a fifth time.

It said it wants two more years to explore the potential for generating geothermal heat for commercial agriculture, including tea growing.

The application has been opposed by the Broadford Bridge Action Group, which regularly gathered outside the site to drink tea and eat cake in protest at UKOG’s operations.

Cake at the Gate protest at the Broadford Bridge oil exploration site in West Sussex. Photo: Broadford Bridge Action Group

A spokesperson for the group said today:

“This company is clutching at tea leaves to try to avoid coughing up the money needed to restore this site as per their original licence.

“It’s ironic that UKOG objected to environmental campaigners having tea and cake mornings outside their gates to raise awareness of the risk of onshore energy production and are now claiming our need for a cuppa should allow them to delay their work on site further.

“Let’s hope WSCC councillors don’t buy it.”

A spokesperson for the Weald Action Group, a network of campaign groups in southern England, said:

“This appears to be yet another attempt by this small company UKOG to delay spending the money needed to plug and restore the well at Broadford Bridge as required by their initial exploration licence. Their last extension expires on March 31st.

“West Sussex County Council should not let UKOG avoid their responsibilities again and risk the cost falling on the taxpayer or landowners should UKOG have financial difficulties down the line. They need to focus on their promises to restore the environment around sites.

“Any potential for geothermal energy needs to be assessed separately across our area.”

No work has been carried out at Broadford Bridge since March 2018. The well pad would remain suspended if UKOG’s application were successful.

UKOG said the future of Broadford Bridge as a hydrocarbon site depends on data from oil wells at Horse Hill and a potential gas site at Loxley near Dunsfold. Both sites are the subject of legal challenges.

A public consultation on UKOG’s proposals is underway and runs until Thursday 25 January. The application is online at: https://westsussex.planning-register.co.uk/Planning/Display/WSCC/046/23

DrillOrDrop’s diary of events in Winter 2023-4 involving the UK onshore oil and gas industry and campaigns about it.

This post will be updated with new details as we get them. Please let us know about any events you think should be included.

Broadford Bridge in West Sussex, 2017. Photo: DrillOrDrop 1 January 2024

Publication of monthly onshore production data. Expected date for publication of North Sea Transition Authority data for October 2023. Look out for DrillOrDrop analysis.

10 January 2024

Reabold Resources requisitioned general meeting. Meeting called by shareholders who want to replace the Reabold Resources board.

25 January 2024

Consultation deadline on UKOG plans to delay restoration at Broadford Bridge in West Sussex. Details

31 January 2024

Planning application expected for two new Wressle wells. Date by which Egdon Resources said it aimed to submit a planning application to North Lincolnshire Council for two new production wells and an extension to the site. Details

1 February 2024

Publication of monthly onshore production data. Expected date for publication of North Sea Transition Authority data for November 2023. Look out for DrillOrDrop analysis.

Deadline for Springs Road, Misson. The start of the bird breeding season marks the deadline for site decommissioning at the Star Energy site in Nottinghamshire, next to Misson Carr site of special scientific interest.

1 March 2024

Publication of monthly onshore production data. Expected date for publication of North Sea Transition Authority data for December 2023. Look out for DrillOrDrop analysis of annual production trends for 2023 and December 2023.

6 March 2024

Government public attitudes survey. Possible publication date for next survey of public attitudes on energy. Previous surveys have asked questions about fracking.

15 March 2024

Predicted determination date for Broadford Bridge planning application to delay restoration until 2026. Details

31 March 2024

Expiry of planning permission for UKOG’s Broadford Bridge site in West Sussex. Details

Preston New Road plugging deadline. Date by when Cuadrilla has said it expects to plug and abandon its two fracked shale gas wells at Preston New Road, subject to rig availability. Details

1 April 2024

Publication of monthly onshore production data. Expected date for publication of North Sea Transition Authority data for January 2024. Look out for DrillOrDrop analysis.

Unconfirmed events due winter 2023/2024

• Ruling in Supreme Court case Finch v Surrey County Council. The case concerns the council’s failure to assess emissions from the use of oil produced at Horse Hill.
• Court hearing in challenge to government decision to approve new coal mine in West Cumbria. High Court, London. Date dependent on outcome of Finch v Surrey County Council.
• Offshore oil and gas licences. The North Sea Transition Authority is expected to award the next set of licenses to companies to explore for oil and gas.
• Divestment and local government pension fund report. Updated report due to be published by Platform, Friends of the Earth Scotland and Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
• Legal challenge to government’s revised net zero strategy. Case brought by Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth and Good Law Project. Expected in early 2024.
• Legal challenge by Uplift and Greenpeace against new oil and gas licences in the North Sea.
• Legal challenge by Uplift and Greenpeace against approval of the development of the Rosebank oil field

Later dates 1 April 2024

Publication of monthly onshore production data. Expected date for publication of North Sea Transition Authority data for January 2024. Look out for DrillOrDrop analysis.

1 May 2024

Publication of monthly onshore production data. Expected date for publication of North Sea Transition Authority data for February 2024. Look out for DrillOrDrop analysis.

First half of 2024

West Newton-B well. Rathlin Energy says it plans to drill a horizontal well at this East Yorkshire site in the first half of the year.

30 June 2024

Deadline for Horse Hill farm-in. Date by which conditional binding Horse Hill farm-in term sheet has been extended with PennPetro.

31 December 2024

NSTA deadline for Preston New Road. Date by when Cuadrilla should plug and abandon its two horizontal shale gas wells at Preston New Road under an order from the North Sea Transition Authority

30 June 2025

Preston New Road planning deadline. Deadline for restoration of Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road shale gas site. Details

A suspended oil site in West Sussex, where no work has been carried out for nearly six years, could supply geothermal heat for farming, including tea production, according to new plans.

Suspended Broadford Bridge site. Photo: UKOG planning application

The operator of the mothballed Broadford Bridge oil exploration site, near Billingshurst, is seeking to delay restoration for a fifth time.

UK Oil & Gas plc (UKOG) has submitted a planning application to extend the life of the site for two more years while it decides what to do with it.

The company said the “authorised purpose” of Broadford Bridge remained oil and gas extraction.

But it said:

“UKOG have been assessing the site’s potential to operate as a private agricultural heat source
for commercial fruit, vegetable, or tea production, uses which have proved viable in other rural
locations.”

It said:

“Whilst UKOG are confident of the heat supply, additional time is needed to identify a viable heat demand and any development needs that may flow.

“UKOG accept that should a viable heat ‘off-taker’ be identified, a further planning permission would be required to authorise the re-purposing of the site for geothermal energy and agricultural production.”

No work has been carried out at Broadford Bridge since March 2018, following reports of possible damage to the oil well and surrounding rock formation.

Broadford Bridge in June 2017. Photo: DrillOrDrop

UKOG wants to keep the site suspended for another two years, with no drilling or testing.

It said the time would be used to review data from the Horse Hill oil site, and the would-be Loxley gas site, near Dunsfold, both in Surrey.

This is the fifth request for a time extension at Broadford Bridge since planning permission was first granted for oil exploration in 2011.  Extensions were granted in:

• 2017 for one year
• 2018 for 18 months
• 2020 for two years
• 2022 for another two years

This time, UKOG blamed the need to postpone restoration on legal challenges involving both Horse Hill and Loxley.

It said assessment work at Horse Hill had been delayed by a case brought by Sarah Finch against Surrey County Council, currently being considered by the Supreme Court.

No work has been carried out at the Loxley site, where campaigners are seeking to challenge planning permission. Their case could go to the Court of Appeal this year.

The planning statement for the latest application said data from either Horse Hill or Loxley would:

“help determine the extent of the reserves, the mix of hydrocarbons, the flow rates and the pressures at play within the target formations.

“This information will help determine the need for further testing and appraisal at Broadford Bridge and its potential for commercial success. Put simply, the data is critical for the future planning of the Broadford Bridge Site.”

The planning statement said the UK’s domestic oil and gas industry was a “major contributor to the economy” and was crucial to “keeping the lights on”.

The delay in restoration would, it said, “keep alive a site that has the potential to assist the UK’s transition to a long-term low-carbon future without compromising the energy security or sustainable growth in the short-to-medium term”.

The statement added that the extension would also “provide valuable information to help inform future mineral exploration and extraction across the wider Weald Basin formation”.

The proposal was “precisely the kind of investment required by national energy and planning policy”, UKOG said. It made the “best use” of mineral resources and reduced the vulnerability of being a net importer of energy.

The latest production data, analysed this month by DrillOrDrop, showed onshore oil contributed 1.9% to UK total oil production, while onshore gas contributed 1.3% to total domestic output.

A public consultation on the proposed delay to restoration at Broadford Bridge is now underway until 25 January 2024. A decision is due around 15 March 2024.

DrillOrDrop will report on the progress of the application through the planning system and the reactions to it.

Link to planning application

Link to DrillOrDrop’s key facts and timeline for Broadford Bridge

UK onshore gas volumes in October rose with increased production from Saltfleetby. But onshore oil fell for the third consecutive month with lower output at Wytch Farm and a well workover at Wressle.

Key figures

Daily oil production: 11,561 barrels of oil per day (bopd) (September 12,345 bopd) 

Oil volume: 56,978m3 (September 58,880m3)

Oil weight: 47,076 tonnes (September 48,635 tonnes)

Onshore oil’s contribution to UK total production: 1.91% (September 2.2%)

Volume of flared gas at UK onshore oilfields: 751ksm3 (September 774ksm3)

Volume of vented gas at UK onshore oilfields: 71ksm3 (September 68ksm3)

Daily gas production: 11.6 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) (September 10.4 mmscf/d) 

Gas volume: 10,168 thousand cubic meters (ksm3) (September 8,834 ksm3)

Gas weight: 8,271 tonnes (September 7,178 tonnes )

Onshore gas’s contribution to UK total production: 1.3% (September 1.2%)

This article uses data compiled and published by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) from reports by oil companies. This is published about three months in arrears. All the charts are based on the NSTA data.

Some data retrospectively changed in previous releases from NSTA. This particularly concerns the volume of flared and vented gas at onshore oil fields. We have reported on why this data has changed.

Details Daily production

Volume and weight

Contribution to UK production

Flaring and venting Top producing fields Oil top 20

Ranking risers: Humbly Grove, Horndean and Palmers Wood

Ranking fallers: Glentworth, Long Clawson, Scampton North, Bletchingley, Cold Hanworth, Gainsborough, Corringham, Beckingham, Horse Hill, Kimmeridge and Whisby. Storrington dropped out of the top 20

The newest UK onshore field, at Wressle in North Lincolnshire, recorded no production in October 2023. This is despite a report by partners in the field that production was likely to resume in the final week of the month after a well workover.

The UK’s biggest onshore producer, Wytch Farm, in Dorset, dropped 6% in October from 39,650 to 37,164. Its contribution to UK production also fell from 81% to 79%. The next highest producing field in October 2023 was Singleton, in West Sussex, up 13%, from 1,543 tonnes to 1,749 tonnes, accounting for 3.7% of UK onshore production.

Humbly Grove, in Hampshire, saw production rise more than 400% from 163 tonnes to 882 tonnes, increasing its contribution to UK onshore production from 0.33% to 1.9%

Production also rose at Horndean, in Hampshire, up 15% from 452 tonnes to 521 tonnes.

Horse Hill, in Surrey, dropped two places in the rankings to 15th, with a 4% fall in production from 195 tonnes to 188 tonnes.

Storrington, in West Sussex, fell to 29th place, with a 95% drop from 124 tonnes to 7 tonnes.

Producing gas fields

Ranking risers: Maltby, Wheldale, Markham and Gedling coal mine vents

Ranking fallers: Prince of Wales and Bilsthorpe Colliery coal mine vents

Production recovered at the UK’s largest onshore gas field at Saltfleetby, in Lincolnshire, after a previous fall for two consecutive months. The weight of gas in October rose 17% to 6,330 tonnes, up from 5,403 tonnes in September 2023. The field’s contribution to UK onshore production rose to 77%, up from 75% in the previous month.

Albury, in Surrey, also saw a rise in production, up 27% in October 2023, from 254 tonnes in September to 322 tonnes.

Production at Maltby Coal Mine Vent rose by 36%, from 384 tonnes to 523 tonnes. But there was an 80% fall at Bilsthorpe and a 54% fall at the Prince of Wales coal mine vent.

Non-producers Oil

According to the data, there was no production at 13 UK onshore oil fields in October 2023. This was one fewer field than in September 2023. Wareham in Dorset resumed production after a break of four months but Wressle recorded no output.

The non-producing fields were:

• Angus Energy: Brockham, Lidsey
• Britnrg Limited: Newton-on-Trent
• Heyco (formerly Egdon Resources): Dukes Wood, Fiskerton Airfield, Kirklington, Waddock Cross, Wressle
• Star Enery (formerly IGas): Avington, Egmanton, Nettleham, Scampton, South Leverton

Gas

There was no production reported at 13 UK onshore producing gas fields in October 2023.

This was one fewer than in September 2023. Bevercotes coal mine vent resumed production in October.

Cadeby and Gedling Coal Mine Vents

The non-producers were:

• Cuadrilla: Elswick
• Heyco: Kirkleatham
• EP UK Investments: Humbly Grove Gas Storage
• Ineos: Airth, Doe Green
• Infinis Energy: coal mine vents at Askern, Florence, Kings Mill Hospital, Mansfield, Sherwood and Warsop
• Scottish Power UK plc: Hatfield Moor and Hatfield Moor Gas Storage Injection

Operators Oil

Production rose at six of the eight UK onshore oil operators, after across-the-board falls in September 2023. Production in October fell at sites operated by Perenco and UK Oil & Gas plc.

Heyco Energy Group saw production rise from 9 tonnes to 113 tonnes, despite the workover suspension at Wressle, with the resumption of production at Keddington

Gas

Production was up at all but one of the UK onshore gas operators. Velox Power saw its production fall slightly from 384 to 373 tonnes.

2022-2023 onshore oil data archive

September 2023

August 2023

July 2023

June 2023

May 2023

April 2023

March 2023

February 2023

January 2023

2022 annual production

November 2022

October 2022

September 2022

August 2022 – see note about revised data

July 2022 – see note about revised data

June 2022

May 2022

April 2022

March 2022

February 2022

January 2022

Keep up to date with January 2024’s news with our digest of daily updated headlines about the business, regulation and campaigns around UK fracking, shale, and onshore oil and gas.

Photo: Natasa Leoni for Friends of the Earth

For headlines from previous months, click here. Please let us know if we’ve missed something important  contact@DrillOrDrop.com

Tuesday 2 January 2024

Wressle reserves upgraded. DrillOrDrop reports on increased expectations for the Wressle oil field in North Lincolnshire.

Fossil fuels fall to 35% of Britain’s electricity supply. The Times reports that fossil fuel generation fell to an all-time low in 2023, accounting for only 35 per cent of Britain’s electricity mix, down from 43 per cent in 2022, according to analysis of data from Drax Electric Insights by Iain Staffell, of Imperial College London, shows.

Monday 1 January 2024

2 onshore oil and gas wells drilled in 2023 – official data. DrillOrDrop’s annual look back on who drilled where in the previous 12 months. The 2023 figures were the second lowest in the past 23 years.

A report on the Wressle oil field in North Lincolnshire has upgraded reserves.

Production lines at the Wressle oil site. P{hoto: Egdon Resources

The study, published today by Union Jack, a partner in the field, reveals:

• 2P reserves (total proven and probable reserves) up 263%
• Reclassification of 1,883 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (mboe) in the Penistone Flags from contingent resources to 2P reserves
• Upgrade of 59% to the estimated ultimate reserves in the Ashover Grit and Wingfield Flags
• Upgrade of 23% to Broughton North prospective 2U resources (unrisked best estimate)

David Bramhill, Union Jack’s executive director said:

“The increase in Wressle’s Reserves vindicates the focus by the JV [joint venture] partners management of the field’s production to maximise recoverable volumes. This provides further support to the development approach we have undertaken to date.”

The study, known as a competent person’s report, or CPR, looked at two licence areas, PEDL180 and PEDL182, covering the Wressle and neighbouring fields.

The author, ERCE, reinterpreted reprocessed 3D seismic survey data and included production information and the results of well testing up to July 2023.

The CPR increased gross 2P reserves from 655mboe, estimated in 2016, to 2,373mboe. This included the reclassification of 1,883mboe to 2P reserves.  

The Broughton North prospect, in PEDL180, north west of Wressle, saw its 2U resources rise from 494mboe to 608mboe.

The Wressle operator, Egdon Resources, has confirmed it intends to submit plans to extend the site and add two new production wells, one of which would target gas.

• Look out for our monthly review of the latest UK onshore oil and gas production data later today.

Just two onshore oil and gas wells were drilled in 2023 – and one of them has already been abandoned. This is despite government policy to “max out” domestic resources.

Data source: North Sea Transition Authority

Official data from the industry regulator showed that both wells were spudded (began being drilled) at one onshore site in Dorset from 1 January-31 December 2023.

In the same period, 51 wells were drilled offshore in the UK, the database confirms.

Data source: North Sea Transition Authority

According to the data, 2023 is the ninth consecutive year of single-figure well drilling onshore in the UK.

The number of onshore wells drilled in 2023 was the second lowest in the past 23 years. It was lower than in 2022 (three), but higher than 2021 (no wells drilled) and equal to 2020.

The data shows that since 1918, only two years have seen a lower number of onshore wells drilled in a year than in 2023 (2021 and 1924).

According to the records, the largest number of onshore wells drilled in a year – 162 – was in 1943. 70 or more wells were drilled in a calendar year in just 1939, 1985 and 1986.

Details Extract from Public Wellbore Search of onshore oil and gas wells drilled in 2023.
Source: North Sea Transition Authority

The North Sea Transition Authority public wellbore search records just two sidetrack wells drilled in 2023 at Perenco’s Wytch Farm oil field, the UK’s largest onshore producer.

The wells, in licence area PL89, were spudded on 25 September 2023 (L98/06-M19Y) and 1 November 2023 (L98/06-M19X).

Both were drilled to a depth of 2,770m on the field’s M wellsite.

Wytch Farm F (below) and M (above) wellsites. Photo: Perenco

The mechanical status of well L98/06-M19Y is recorded as “abandoned phase 1”. The industry defines this as:

“The reservoir has been permanently isolated. This requires that permanent barrier material is placed to fully isolate all reservoir producing or injecting zones from the wellbore. The tubing may be left in place, partly or fully retrieved.”

• DrillOrDrop will continue to report on onshore drilling in the UK during 2024. Our article, What to watch in 2024, summarises some of the developments expected in the next 12 months. You can also catch up on the news from 2023 with our review of the past year.

Links to previous analysis of well drilling

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

DrillOrDrop’s checklist of what to look out for in 2024 on UK onshore oil and gas. You can also catch up with the headlines from 2023 in our review of the year.

Shale gas sites

• Cuadrilla must plug and abandon its two horizontal shale gas wells at Preston New Road in Lancashire by December 2024, under an order from the North Sea Transition Authority.
• Star Energy must decommission and restore its shale gas site at Springs Road, Misson, in Nottinghamshire, before 1 February 2024, following an instruction from Nottinghamshire County Council.

Fracking

The UK general election must be held by late January 2025 and is expected to be in 2024. We’ll be watching closely for any change in party policies on fracking and onshore shale gas.

The moratorium on fracking in England was part of the Conservative manifesto at the last election in 2019. But Rishi Sunak has previously said he supports onshore fracking with local consent. Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP, Greens and Plaid Cymru oppose onshore fracking.

We’ll also be watching for changes in policy on further oil and gas licensing, both onshore and offshore.

Legal challenges

The outcome of important legal challenges on oil and gas and climate change strategy are expected in 2024.

We’ll be reporting on the outcome of these planning cases:

• Sarah Finch’s Supreme Court challenge against Surrey County Council’s approval of oil production at UKOG’s oil site at Horse Hill. Ms Finch said the approval was unlawful because the council did not take into account the carbon emissions from the use of Horse Hill oil. The council said it needed only to consider the climate impact of the process of production.
• SOS Biscathorpe application to challenge ruling of a planning inspector on onshore oil production in the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB
• Frack Free Balcombe Residents’ Association application to the Court of Appeal against the High Court refusal to overturn permission for a well test at Angus Energy’s oil site at Balcombe in the High Weald AONB in West Sussex.
• Protect Dunsfold and Waverley Borough Council application to the Court of Appeal against the High Court refusal to overturn approval of gas drilling at Dunsfold, near the Surrey Hills AONB.

We’ll also be following these challenges to government policy:

• Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth and the Good Law Project case against the government’s net zero strategy
• A case against the climate change national adaptation programme
• Chris Packham has said he plans to challenge the 2023 changes to policy on phasing out fossil fuel cars and boilers
• Uplift and Greenpeace are bringing a case against new oil and gas licences in the North Sea
• In a separate case, Uplift and Greenpeace are challenging the approval of the development of the Rosebank oil field off Shetland
• Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change are bringing a case against approval of a new coal mine in Cumbria

Planning applications

We’ll be reporting on the progress of planning applications, including these:

• Egdon Resources application expected early in 2024 for two new production wells at Wressle, North Lincolnshire
• Egdon Resources previously said it intended to submit a revised application for long-term production and a new well direction at North Kelsey in Lincolnshire
• Egdon Resources has also said it intends to expand its Waddock Cross oil site in Dorset and resume production
• Angus Energy has plans for more wells and extra gas storage capacity at Saltfleetby, in Lincolnshire
• UKOG must restore its Broadford Bridge site in West Sussex by March 2024 or apply for a fourth time extension
• Will South Western Energy Limited submit revised plans for an oil site and production well at Athelhampton Road in Puddletown, Dorset?

Investigation

• The Environment Agency is expected to complete its investigation in 2024 and report on the leak from a pipe serving the Wytch Farm oil field in Dorset in March 2023

Drilling and production

• Rathlin Energy has said it plans to drill a horizontal well at West Newton-B in East Yorkshire in the first half of 2024
• UKOG has permission for two new wells at its Horse Hill site in Surrey
• Look out for the impact of a well workover on oil production at Wressle, North Lincolnshire
• Star Energy has permission to develop a new oil site at Glentworth in Lincolnshire and resume oil production at Avington, Hampshire
• Every month, we’ll also report on the official onshore oil and gas production figures

Renewables

We’ll be following renewables schemes run by former and existing fossil fuel companies, including:

• Geothermal pilot project at Third Energy’s KM8 well at Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire
• Geothermal heat schemes by Star Energy from NHS trusts in Salisbury and Greater Manchester

Companies

We regularly report on company accounts and updates and we’ll also be watching:

• Challenge to directors at Reabold Resources
• _Progress of a farm-in deal at Horse Hill between UKOG and PennPetro

Wishing all DrillOrDrop readers a very happy new year.

A landmark legal challenge to UK onshore oil and gas production was heard by the country’s highest court in 2023.

Sarah Finch (front, fourth from right) and supporters outside the Supreme Court in 2023. Photo: DrillOrDrop

In June, five Supreme Court justices considered the case brought by campaigner, Sarah Finch. She argued that the climate impact of burning fossil fuels must be assessed before any decision could be made on production plans.

The case, which had previously gone to the High Court and Court of Appeal, focussed on Surrey County Council’s approval of oil production at the UK Oil and Gas (UKOG) site at Horse Hill, near Horley.

But the outcome, which is still awaited, could have major implications for all new fossil fuel projects in the UK, including the controversial new coal mine in Cumbria.

The significance of this case was revealed when the UK’s newest environmental watchdog, the Office of Environmental Protection, intervened, along with the levelling up secretary and the company behind the Cumbrian coal mine.

Sarah Finch outside the Supreme Court in 2023. Photo: DrillOrDrop

Ms Finch said Surrey County Council acted unlawfully when it failed to consider greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the use of Horse Hill oil. The council said it needed to consider only the climate impact of the production operation.

The arguments are already influencing other legal challenges. DrillOrDrop will report in detail on the Supreme Court ruling when it is published.

Oil and gas in protected areas

The impact of onshore oil and gas operations on protected areas was the focus of three more legal challenges in 2023, each supported by small local campaign groups.

A chalk stream in the Lincolnshire Wolds, which campaigners argue is at risk from nearby oil production proposed for Egdon Resources’ site at Biscathorpe. Photo: SOS Biscathorpe

SOS Biscathorpe is seeking to overturn a ruling by a planning inspector, who granted permission for long-term oil production in the Lincolnshire Wolds area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB).

The campaigners, some of who have campaigned against oil operations at Biscathorpe since 2014, were shocked and angered by the inspector’s decision, published in November. He accepted that the production scheme would harm the AONB and contravened some local planning policies. He also acknowledged that the volume of produced oil may be small and could be exported. But he said the national need for oil justified planning permission.

SOS Biscathorpe submitted papers to the High Court in December. The site operator, Egdon Resources, and Lincolnshire County Council must respond by early January.

Members of Frack Free Balcombe Residents’ Association at the High Court in 2023. The group is now seeking a hearing at the Court of Appeal. Photo: DrillOrDrop

In West Sussex, Balcombe villagers are applying to challenge permission for testing an oil well in the High Weald AONB.

The Balcombe site, now operated by Angus Energy, has been controversial since 2013, when daily protests against a new oil well made national headlines.

The county council refused planning permission for the well test in 2021. Angus Energy successfully appealed. In October, Frack Free Balcombe Residents’ Association failed to overturn that decision at the High Court and is now seeking a hearing at the Court of Appeal.

Thirty miles away, on the edge of the Surrey Hills AONB, another campaign group is challenging oil drilling near the village of Dunsfold.

In this case, Surrey County Council twice refused planning permission. The site operator, UKOG, successfully appealed. Protect Dunsfold and Waverley Borough Council failed to overturn that decision in the High Court and are now applying for a hearing at the Court of Appeal.  

More legal challenges

• The government is facing a second court challenge over its net zero strategy. Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth and the Good Law Project argue that the strategy is unlawful. In 2022, they successfully forced the government to revise its original strategy.
• Two people are bringing a legal challenge to the government’s climate change national adaptation programme. They argue it is inadequate and breaches the Climate Change Act.
• The broadcaster, Chris Packham, outlined plans to challenge Rishi Sunak over changes to government commitments on phasing out new fossil fuel cars and boilers (See COP28 and climate change).
• Uplift and Greenpeace were granted permission to bring a High Court challenge to the issue of new oil and gas licences in the North Sea (See COP28 and climate change).
• In a separate challenge, the two organisations announced they were seeking to overturn the approval of development of Rosebank, described as the UK’s largest untapped North Sea oil field.
• The hearing in a legal challenge by Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change against the Cumbrian coal mine was delayed until after the ruling on Sarah Finch’s Horse Hill case.
• Ineos was ordered to pay costs in a legal challenge against the company’s protest injunction.
• Egdon Resources withdrew its appeal against refusal of planning permission for drilling at North Kelsey, a week before a public hearing. A new planning application is expected.
• The onshore shale gas industry failed to bring a case for damages over the reinstatement of  fracking moratorium in England in October 2022.
• The Supreme Court refused an application by Friends of the Earth to challenge UK government funding of a $1.15bn gas project in Mozambique. 

Fracking Decommissioning equipment on its way to the Star Energy site at Springs Road, Misson, in Nottinghamshire. Photo: Frack Free Misson

The UK onshore shale gas industry appeared to be in retreat in 2023, after the momentous but brief lifting of the moratorium on fracking in England the year before. (See 2022 Review of the Year)

In August, the industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), ordered Cuadrilla to plug and abandon its fracked wells at Preston New Road in Lancashire. The company was given until 30 December 2024 to complete the work. Operations at the site in 2019 caused the strongest fracking-induced earthquake onshore in the UK.

In June, Lancashire County Council gave Cuadrilla until June 2025 to decommission the Preston New Road wells and return the site to farmland. The council later revealed that Cuadrilla aimed to plug and abandon the wells by 31 March 2024, subject to the availability of a rig.

Also in 2023, Cuadrilla’s owner, the Australian mining group, impaired the value of its UK shale gas assets by more $157m and relinquished three shale gas licences in Yorkshire (PEDL287, PEDL290 and PEDL342). It gave up operation of PEDL347, also in Yorkshire, in an agreement with Egdon Resources and York Energy.

IGas, later renamed Star Energy, cut the value of its shale gas assets and decided not to sue the government over reinstating the fracking moratorium.

In the autumn, work began to decommission Star Energy’s remaining shale gas well, at Misson in Nottinghamshire. A rig left the site in November.

Two potential shale gas sites, owned by IGas near Chester, were put up for sale. The NSTA no longer lists PEDL190, the licence covering the area.

Major oil incident

A major incident was declared in Poole Harbour, in Dorset, in March after a pipeline leak from Wytch Farm, the UK’s biggest onshore oil field.

About 200 barrels of oil and reservoir fluid (about 11,000 gallons) are estimated to have leaked into the water. People were advised to stay away from beaches and avoid gathering shellfish.

The environment minister, Lord Benyon, described it has a “significant spill” and said the site operator, Perenco, would be held responsible for any damage.

Seven months later, in November, the Environment Agency said it was still working to understand what happened to cause the spill. Floating barriers were likely to remain in place “for some time” and Perenco would be required to carry out “ongoing monitoring and reporting”, the EA said.

COP28 and climate change

Representatives of almost 200 countries gathered at the UN COP28 conference in Dubai to agree the next global steps to tackling climate change.

King Charles opened the event with a warning that a “vast, frightening experiment” on the natural world risked triggering feedback loops in the climate system which would cause irreversible disaster.

The COP president, Sultan Al Jaber, also head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, said there was “no science” behind demands to phase out fossil fuels.

The final agreement included the first ever move to transition away from fossil fuels. But small island states complained the deal had been rushed through without them. It also left out earlier stronger language to phase out fossil fuels, pushed for by the US, UK, and EU.

COP28 had the biggest carbon footprint of any climate summit so far. Analysis also suggested the conference admitted a record number of people affiliated with oil and gas industries, at least 2,456.

While preparations were underway for COP28, global temperature records were broken in July and September. EU scientists warned that 2023 would be warmest year on record. The global mean temperature for the first 11 months hit the highest level on record, 1.46C above the 1850-1900 average.

Despite this, Rishi Sunak promised to “max out” North Sea oil and gas reserves and grant hundreds of new licences in the North Sea (July). He later delayed plans to phase out fossil fuel cars and boilers (September). Both announcements were criticised by environmentalists, climate campaigners and political opponents. Analysis suggested that proposed new North Sea fields would produce enough gas to satisfy UK needs for, at most, three weeks a year.

In October, the NSTA announced the award of the first 27 licences in the 33rd oil and gas licensing round. The regulator said it had received 115 applications, the highest number since the 29th round in 2016-17.

A new Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, introduced to Parliament in November, would require new North Sea oil and gas licences to be offered annually. It also said licensing rounds would be subject to “stringent new emissions” tests.

Also in 2023, the NSTA, whose single shareholder is the energy and net zero secretary, announced the approval of the Rosebank oil field, 80 miles off Shetland. It was described as the biggest untapped UK offshore oil field, estimated to contain 500 million barrels of oil. Opponents said that decision was heading for the courts (see More Challenges).

The UK government’s climate advisor, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) warned ministers that the expansion of fossil fuel production was “not in line” with the UK’s goal to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The CCC also urged ministers to kick the fossil fuel habit to avoid the worst climate impacts. It said the prime minister’s roll back on fossil fuel cars and boilers would make emissions targets harder to reach. The government has refused to disclose the impact of this policy change on carbon emissions.

Despite the warnings, the government also rejected calls to bring forward a ban on flaring on oil and gas sites from Chris Skidmore, the reviewer of the net zero strategy, the Environmental Audit Committee and 25 non-governmental organisations.

Also this year, new analysis revealed that UK council pension funds had invested £16bn in fossil fuels, of which more than £8 billion were in new oil and gas projects. The British Museum announced a 10-year partnership with BP, worth £50m, to help fund one of the biggest redevelopments in its history.  More than 40 UK universities were also reported to have accepted £40m+ in fossil fuel funding since 2022

Protest Greenpeace activists drape oil-black cloth over the front of Rishi Sunak’s home in North Yorkshire, 3 August 2023. Photo: Greenpeace UK

New government legislation outlawing certain types of protest came into force in 2023.

The Public Order Act increased police powers to respond to protests and put restrictions in place.

These included new and expanded use of stop and search, as well as orders that could ban people from participating in protests and control their movements. The act also included new offences that criminalised some forms of protest, such as locking-on and being equipped to lock-on, causing serious disruption by tunnelling, obstructing major transport works and interfering with key national infrastructure.

The government had cited anti-fossil fuel protests by groups, such as Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain, to justify the legislation.

Protests continued, including a weekend of action in September calling for the phase out of oil and gas operations.

A month later, the Metropolitan Police used the new powers for the first time to arrest climate protesters. The Guardian reported more than 60 climate activists were arrested during a slow march outside parliament.

The Swedish climate campaigner, Greta Thunberg, was also charged in October for allegedly breaching a Section 14 order outside an oil and gas conference in London. She later pleaded not guilty and is awaiting a trial.

Extinction Rebellion supporters outside Isleworth Crown Court for the sentencing of co-founder Dr Gail Bradbrook. She received a 15-month suspended prison sentence for breaking a door at the Department of Transport.
Photo: Extinction Rebellion

Gail Bradbrook, the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, was found guilty of breaking a window at the Department of Transport. The judge told jurors she had no defence in law and that her motivation was irrelevant. She was later given a 15-month suspended prison sentence.

In November, Just Stop Oil reported that 612 of its supporters had been arrested in four weeks. In one march in central London, the organisation said 14 people were arrested within 30 seconds of stepping off the pavement.

The UN’s rapporteur for climate change and human rights warned that long jail sentences given to two Just Stop Oil protesters for scaling the M25 bridge over the Thames was a potential breach of international law.

Onshore production

Onshore UK production was boosted in 2023 by output from the newest oil field at Wressle, in North Lincolnshire, and resumed gas extraction from Saltfleetby, in Lincolnshire.

The most recent data on UK daily onshore oil production. Chart: DrillOrDrop using data from the NSTA

But about 80% of onshore oil production continued to come from Wytch Farm. And DrillOrDrop analysis revealed that almost a fifth of UK onshore production fields extracted no oil or gas in the past five years.

In August, the Wressle operator, Egdon Resources, reported that the well was also producing water. An artificial lift on the well aimed to increase pressure in the reservoir and improve oil flow rates. The Environment Agency has also raised the limit on the flow rate. Official data released in the New Year will reveal the impact of the operation on production. Egdon has also confirmed plans for two new production wells at Wressle, one of which will target gas. A planning application is expected in early 2024.

At Saltfleetby, Angus Energy completed a sidetrack well in March. The company later said well cleaning had taken longer than expected because of incomplete acidisation of mud additives during drilling. A permanent flowline was commissioned in November.

A partner in the mothballed Avington oil site in the South Downs National Park in Hampshire revealed that production was due to resume. The site operator, Star Energy, has given no details of the plans but local people have opposed the move.

Protesters from climate action group Extinction Rebellion march through the Boomtown festival against plans to resume oil production at Avington in Hampshire. Photo: Rod Harbinson/RodHarbinson.com

Also in 2023, Star Energy secured planning permission for a new oil production site at Glentworth in Lincolnshire. Egdon Resources revealed that it wanted to expand a suspended oil site at Waddock Cross in Dorset and restart production.

At West Newton, in East Yorkshire, plans for a horizontal production well were postponed until autumn 2023 and then 2024. The operator, Rathlin Energy, said it was seeking extra funding to meet its drilling and testing obligations.

At Horse Hill, UKOG announced in February it had installed three groundwater monitoring boreholes as part of plans for water reinjection at the site. The Horse Hill-1 well, once described as the Gatwick Gusher and said to be nationally significant, saw its value downgraded for the third time. UKOG impaired the asset to £80,000. Since 2020, the well has been impaired by more than £13m.

Two new production wells at Horse Hill that were put on hold in 2022 were also not drilled this year. UKOG announced an initial farm-in agreement  with the Texas-focused PennPetro Energy. The deal, later extended to June 2024, would see PennPetro pay all the costs of seismic surveying and a new production well at the site. Since May, PennPetro has been chaired by David Lenigas, formerly executive chairman of UKOG.

Renewables

A controversial site proposed for fracking became a pioneer of renewable energy in 2023. Third Energy announced its KM8 well at Kirby Misperton in North Yorkshire would be a pilot test site for geothermal energy. It is the first of its kind to move from onshore gas to clean energy production.

IGas changed its name to Star Energy in June to reflect its interest in renewable energy. It became the preferred contractor to deliver geothermal heat schemes for hospital trusts in Salisbury and Greater Manchester. The company was also granted two geothermal licences in Croatia and appointed two new directors with renewables experience. Despite this, renewables remain a small part of Star Energy’s business. The company operates 26 onshore UK producing oil fields and one gas field. Plans were refused in 2023 for fossil grey hydrogen production at Albury, in Surrey. This follows a previous refusal in 2022 at another Star Energy site in Surrey at Bletchingley.

Company news

In March, Egdon Resources acquired Aurora Production Limited, a private company which held 18.75% of the Waddock Cross licence PL090 and 8.33% of the Avington field, PEDL070. In May, Egdon announced it had agreed to a £26.6m takeover by Petrichor Partners, a subsidiary of the Dallas-based Heyco Energy Group. Egdon’s ultimate parent company is now Explorers Petroleum Corp, controlled by George Yates.

In November, shareholders challenged directors of Reabold Resources, a key player in the West Newton oil and gas development in East Yorkshire, and in Europa Oil & Gas. A meeting will discuss changes to the Reabold board on 10 January 2024.

Ineos, which holds the largest number of UK shale gas licences, bought the US shale assets of Chesapeake Energy for $1.4 billion. Also in 2023, Ineos plans for the Project One ethane cracker in Antwerp, were blocked by a Belgian court.

People

At Angus Energy, George Lucan stepped down as chair and Andrew Hollis left his role as technical director. Europa’s chief executive, Simon Oddie, retired and was replaced by William Holland, the company’s chief financial officer.

Before its name change, IGas appointed Chris Hopkinson as chief executive and Philip Jackson, formerly of Kerogen Capital, as non-executive chairman.

In the most recent government reshuffles, Claire Coutinho became energy and net zero secretary and Steve Barclay environment secretary. Ms Coutinho is the 10th secretary of state for energy in 13 years of Conservative rule.

DeSmog reported that Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate for London Mayor, had previously backed the reintroduction of fracking and opposed key climate policies.

The deaths were reported of anti-fracking campaigners Bob Dennett, Jon O’Houston and Michael Farman.