Page 13 - EurOil Week 43 2021

EurOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES EurOil

Isle of Wight council blocks

UKOG appraisal work

UK SHARES at London-listed junior UK Oil & Gas and undertaken research to choose a location
(UKOG) dropped more than 13% on October that was adjacent to land with existing non-ag-
The company has a 20 after the company announced that the Isle ricultural uses – such as the Wight Farm Anaer-
history of fighting with of Wight Council’s planning committee had obic Digestion Energy Power Station and the
local councils to secure refused to permit an appraisal and testing pro- Blackwater Quarry. It said no objections on
planning permissions. gramme at the Arreton oil and gas discovery. development were raised by statutory consultees
UKOG, which has a 95% interest in the on environmental, drinking water, landscape or
PEDL331 licence containing Arreton, said the health and safety grounds.
refusal came despite a recommendation last Earlier UKOG’s Horse Hill project near
week by its own planning officers to approve the Gatwick Airport became bogged down in a
project. long-running planning and approval process.
The company, which has a history of fighting Several UK oil and gas projects have run into
with local councils to secure planning permis- similar difficulties. Earlier this month Shell’s
sions, said it would consider its position and Jackdaw gas development in the North Sea was
whether to file an appeal with the UK Planning unexpectedly denied approval by an environ-
Inspectorate. mental regulator.
“This decision underscores UKOG’s change Meanwhile, gas prices remain at an historic
of focus over the past year towards the interna- high in Europe, owing to a surge in demand
tional arena for oil and gas, plus its new direction and constrained supply. The EU has blamed the
into geothermal and hydrogen-based energy in crisis on an overreliance on fossil fuels, particu-
the UK,” CEO Stephen Sanderson commented. larly supplies that have been imported. But poor
“In accordance with the company’s stated growth wind power output this year has exacerbated the
strategy, plans and evaluations are reasonably crisis. Some member states such as Poland and
advanced in several new projects designed to Hungary have criticised the EU climate strategy,
grow the company in these new areas.” describing it as a “utopian vision that will under-
UKOG said it had taken considerable care mine economic prosperity.” ™

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