Permit for Wressle Field in UK Canceled

The planning consent for an extension project in the Wressle field onshore North Lincolnshire has been rescinded due to a Supreme Court ruling that regulators must consider Scope III emissions in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs).

The consortium had already anticipated the cancelation of the permit issued by the North Lincolnshire Council (NLC) and decided not to file a legal challenge.

“The Operator, Egdon Resources U.K. Limited, will now provide the NLC with an analysis of Scope 3 GHG emissions for the proposed development conducted by an independent third-party specialist company and request a new EIA screening opinion”, majority owner Union Jack Oil PLC said in an online statement.

“Depending on the outcome of this decision, a new determination of the Wressle planning application will be made based on either the existing submitted information or with the requirement for a new Environmental Statement.

“This decision has no effect on the existing planning consent at Wressle and production and operations continue with no detriment to Union Jack and its partners”.

The extension project involves the construction of natural gas processing facilities and an underground pipeline to connect the field to the local distribution network. The extension project was expected to start production 2025.

Wressle’s proven and probable reserves (2P) have been raised by 263 percent to 2.37 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe). That was in comparison to a 2016 assessment, which put 2P resources at 655 million boe.

Wressle, operated by Egdon Resources UK Ltd. with a 30 percent stake, spans Petroleum Exploration and Development License (PEDL) 180 and PEDL 182. Union Jack holds a 40 percent stake and Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) PLC holds the remaining 30 percent.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) issued October 30 a draft EIA guidance for oil and gas firms in light of the Supreme Court decision. The Labor government had decided not to appeal the decision in the Finch case, in which the Supreme Court nullified the Surrey County Council’s planning permission for the Horse Hill oil development because end-use Earth-warming emissions had not been factored in.

Expecting that the consultation would not conclude until spring 2025, the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) said it was pausing environmental assessments, including ongoing ones.

Otherwise, operators would be “wasting time and money submitting environmental statements that do not contain the required elements”, the OPRED said in a statement August 29.

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