Exploration drilling begins on UK oil well

Exploration drilling has commenced at a planned oil well near Billinghurst in West Sussex. UK Oil & Gas Investments’ (UKOG) 100% owned Broadford Bridge-1 (BB-1) site will test a ‘geological […]

Exploration drilling has commenced at a planned oil well near Billinghurst in West Sussex.

UK Oil & Gas Investments’ (UKOG) 100% owned Broadford Bridge-1 (BB-1) site will test a ‘geological lookalike’ to the company’s previous Horse Hill discovery, which has produced 1,365 barrels of oil per day from two naturally fractured Kimmeridge Limestone rock units.

Situated within the 300 square kilometre PEDL234 licence, operations will continue until the well reaches a total drilled depth of around 1,900 metres.

The site uses a non-toxic, water-based drilling fluid to lubricate the drill-bit to avoid any water pollution.

All regulatory permissions to drill the well, from the Oil and Gas Authority, the Environment Agency, West Sussex County Council and the Health and Safety Executive are in place.

Stephen Sanderson, UKOG’s Executive Chairman, said: “BB-1’s prime objective is to demonstrate that moveable light oil in commercial quantities exists within the Kimmeridge Limestones on the southern side of the Weald Basin, over 30 kilometres to the southwest of the Horse Hill Kimmeridge oil discovery.

“We look forward to the results of the drilling, extensive coring, electric logging and comprehensive borehole imaging programme and ultimately to long-term flow testing of BB-1 in the summer.”

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are calling for measures to protect the vulnerable Arctic ecosystem and ban oil drilling.

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