The companies that hold the licences to what could turn out to be the biggest onshore oil find in the UK are making tentative preparations to develop a field, it emerged this morning.
A flurry of announcements from the consortium that includes UK Oil & Gas (LON:UKOG), Solo Oil (LON:SOLO), Alba Minerals (LON:ALBA) and Evocutis (LON:EVO) updated on plans and provided a new independent resource estimate.
The calculations prepared by oil services giant Schlumberger suggest there are 10.99bn barrels of crude across 55 square miles, in Sussex, of near Gatwick Airport, owned by the explorers.
The last update suggested there may be a ‘mean’ 9.97bn barrels in this part of Weald Basin contained within the ‘tight’ Jurassic limestones and shales of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation.
At this present time it is unknown whether the resource can be commercially tapped and analysts expect as Horse Hill is a ‘tight’ play it would require fracking in order to liberate the oil in significant quantities.
In the announcements today the Horse Hill companies said they had commissioned engineering and environmental studies to “investigate a conceptual Weald Jurassic field development”.
They said the prime objective must be that it “respect and preserve the rural beauty and way of life of the area, with minimal environmental impact, while at the same time providing a valuable contribution to the area's economy”.