British energy company says there is oil, and lots of it, near London’s Gatwick Airport. The question is how much of it can be pumped from the ground.
UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC says analysis of a new well in the Weald Basin indicates there may be as much as 158 million barrels of oil per square mile in the region. That suggests the entire basin may hold as much as 100 billion barrels of oil, more than 10 times earlier estimates. By comparison, Britain has pumped about 42 billion barrels of oil from the North Sea over the past 40 years.
While oil companies have been drilling in the Weald Basin since the 1930s, UK Oil & Gas says new “concepts, techniques and technology” have given it a better understanding of the region’s potential. As recently as December, the British Geological Survey issued a report suggesting the basin’s shale rock formations held up to 8.8 billion barrels of oil.
Stephen Sanderson, the CEO of UK Oil & Gas, said the latest estimates shows this is a “world class potential resource.”
The U.K. has identified three potential reservoirs of onshore oil and gas as it seeks to get in on the shale oil boom that has made the U.S. the world’s top energy producer. While U.S. developers have relied on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to break up the shale and release energy deposits, UK Oil & Gas says the Weald Basin is “naturally fractured” and so can be tapped using conventional drilling techniques.
But Alastair Fraser, a professor of petroleum geoscience at Imperial College London, warned that the area’s geology is “rather unfriendly.” While the oil may exist, it will be difficult to get out of the ground because the rocks are extremely tight and non-permeable, said Fraser, who worked for British oil producer BP for 30 years.
“That’s all very well,” he said of the increased estimate of the basin’s oil resources. “But you’ve got to get at that.”
Experts agree that only a fraction of the oil in shale rock formations can be extracted.
Developers have been able to recover from 3 percent to 15 percent of the oil present in areas that are geologically similar to the Weald Basin, Sanderson said.
Another complication may be opposition to large-scale drilling in a basin that stretches across 4,180 square miles (10,825 square kilometers) of southern England.
“Some of the most prospective plays are in environmentally sensitive areas, in National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty or under towns and villages,” the British Geological Study said in its report. “Shale oil exploration and potential development should progress cautiously to ensure the activity is safe and the environment is properly protected.”

Big oil deposit near London airport, but will be hard to tap

British energy company says there is oil, and lots of it, near London’s Gatwick Airport. The question is how much of it can be pumped from the ground. (File photo: AFP)
The Associated Press, London
Thursday 09 April 2015
Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:45 - GMT 06:45
DAY | WEEK |
-
6068 Views Coronavirus cases in the UAE surge as authorities detect 3,407 new infections
-
4041 Views Coronavirus: Pfizer to temporarily reduce vaccine deliveries to Europe
-
2034 Views US will impose sanctions on Iran over conventional arms, metals industry: Sources
-
1356 Views Coronavirus: Jordan’s King Abdullah receives COVID-19 vaccine
-
1149 Views WhatsApp says no one will have their account suspended or deleted on February 8
-
974 Views Palestinians to hold first elections in 15 years, presidential vote on July 31
-
21881 Views Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince reveals project ‘THE LINE’ in futuristic city of NEOM
-
11764 Views Oman Sultan issues new law organizing succession, naming of crown prince
-
9543 Views Coronavirus: UAE reports 3,362 new COVID-19 cases, total hits 239,587
-
7080 Views COVID-19: Saudi Arabia warns against travel to 12 countries without permission
-
6833 Views Trump supporter Jake Angeli seen in horned fur hat charged in Capitol violence
-
6366 Views Coronavirus: UAE records 2,404 new COVID-19 cases as cases continue to rapidly rise
SHOW MORE