Surrey County Council has given permission to drill an underground well at Holmwood, Europa Oil & Gas (LON:EOG) announced today.
Europa and its partners have been seeking drilling permission since 2008 and Hugh Mackay, Europa’s chief executive, said: “Following Surrey County Council’s favourable decision, we are meeting with our joint venture partners and reviewing plans to take the Holmwood prospect forward to drilling.”
Europa owns 40% of the Holmwood licence alongside Egdon Resources (LON:EDR) with 18.4% and UK Oil & Gas (LON:UKOG), which recently took a 20% subject to the completion of a farm-in, also involved.
The consortium now has planning permission for both the surface site and the underground drilling corridor.
Drilling is expected to start at the end of next year or at the start of 2017.
Europa first submitted an application for planning permission to drill the prospect on the PEDL143 licence in 2008 but this was eventually dismissed by Surrey County Council in 2011.
A CPR published in June 2012 estimated gross mean un-risked prospective resources of 5.6mln barrels of oil, making Holmwood potentially the UK’s fifth largest onshore field.
Mackay said: “Combined with a one in three chance of success, we therefore regard Holmwood as one of the best undrilled conventional prospects in onshore UK.”
The field was projected in April by Europa to have a value of around £137mln at a US$60 per barrel oil price.
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