Company behind failed Surrey oilfield project sells site at massive loss
Summary
UK Oil and Gas (UKOG), after failing to get permission to expand its Horse Hill oilfield in Surrey due to a Supreme Court ruling, sold the site for much less than it spent. The company has renamed itself UK Energy Group and shifted focus to clean energy, while the new owners plan to apply again for oil drilling permits.Key Facts
- UKOG spent over £25 million developing the Horse Hill oilfield, where they claimed there were 100 billion barrels of oil.
- In 2024, the UK Supreme Court ruled that environmental assessments must include indirect greenhouse gas emissions from oil projects, overturning previous local approval.
- UKOG sold the Horse Hill site for £1 million, far below its investment, and reduced the asset’s reported value to about £55,000.
- The company rebranded as UK Energy Group, focusing on clean energy, including hydrogen storage and salt-cavern energy projects.
- New owners, Energy B, took over and submitted a renewed application to drill for oil at Horse Hill, proposing extraction over 20 years.
- The new drilling plan estimates 2.3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions but claims the impact is insignificant.
- Campaigner Sarah Finch criticized the new environmental assessment for not properly considering cumulative emissions from fossil fuel projects.
- The Supreme Court ruling, known as the Finch Ruling, set a precedent requiring better consideration of climate change impacts in oil and gas project approvals.
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