Southern England 'Brimming' with Onshore Oil
Analysis of a well in southern England's Weald Basin shows that the region could be brimming in onshore oil. So says junior exploration company UK Oil & Gas, which reported Thursday that US petrophysical analysis firm Nutech has estimated that the Horse Hill-1 well near Gatwick Airport, south of London, has total oil in place of 158 million barrels per square mile.
Nutech's report states that oil in place at the Horse Hill-1 well lies within a 653-foot aggregate net pay section, primarily within Argillaceous limestone and interbedded mudstones of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation as well as in the mudstones of the Oxford and Lias sections. Approximately 72 percent of the oil in place (114 million barrels of oil) lies within the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge interbedded limestone and mudstone sequence.
The Horse Hill licenses cover 55 square miles of the Weald Basin. UK Oil & Gas holds a 20.36-percent interest in these licenses.
UK Oil & Gas CEO Stephen Sanderson commented in a company statement:
"Drilling the deepest well in the basin in 30 years, together with the ability to use concepts, techniques and technology unavailable in the 1980s, has provided new cutting-edge data and interpretations to comprehensively change the understanding of the area's potential oil resources.
"As a result, we believe that, in addition to the Portland Sandstone oil discovery, the Horse Hill well has discovered a possible world class potential resource in what is interpreted to be a new Upper Jurassic 'hybrid play'."
In a separate statement Ken Cronin, chief executive of onshore trade body UKOOG, added:
"We have been drilling for oil and gas onshore in the UK for over 100 years. There are a number of sites in the south of England that have been producing oil for many years with great care for the environment and with no impact on local communities.
"These initial results suggest a very large volume of oil in place, which could potentially help to stem the rise in oil imports and improve Britain’s energy security and balance of payments. Further appraisal work will be needed to test what could be economically and technically recoverable."
That Horse Hill potentially contains a world-class resource contradicts a report issued in May last year by the British Geological Survey that estimated a reasonable central estimate for shale oil in the Weald region of England was just 4.4 billion barrels.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
- ITEM Club: More Jobs Losses Expected in NE Scotland due to Oil Slump
- Shell Q&A: What Makes an Ideal Employer in Oil, Gas?
- Shell Takes First Place in Rigzone's Inaugural Ideal Employer Survey
- UK Government 'Must Recommit' to Oil, Gas Sector in Autumn Statement
- UK Government Gives Go-Ahead for Fracking in NW England
- Falcon Oil Declares Commercial Flow Test Results for Shenandoah Well
- Macquarie Strategists Expect Brent Oil Price to Grind Higher
- Japan Failing to Meet Corporate Demand for Clean Power: Amazon
- Pennsylvania County Joins List of Local Govts Suing Big Oil over Climate
- UK Oil Regulator Publishes New Emissions Reduction Plan
- PetroChina Posts Higher Annual Profit on Higher Production
- US, SKorea Launch Task Force to Stop Illicit Refined Oil Flows into NKorea
- McDermott Settles Reficar Dispute
- Russian Navy Enters Warship-Crowded Red Sea Amid Houthi Attacks
- USA Commercial Crude Oil Inventories Increase
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- Oil Demand Outpaces Expectations, Testing Calculus on Peak Crude
- House Passes Protecting American Energy Production Act
- TotalEnergies Restarts Production in Denmark's Biggest Gas Field
- USA Oil and Gas Job Figures Jump
- Republican Lawmakers Say IEA Has Abandoned Energy Security Mission
- Blockchain Demands Attention in Oil and Gas
- Houthis Warn Saudi Arabia of Retaliation If It Backs USA Attacks
- Macquarie Sees USA Oil Production Exiting 2024 at 14MM Barrels Per Day
- Summer Pump Prices Set to Hit $4 a Gallon Just as Americans Hit the Road
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Another Major Oilfield Discovery
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension