Gatwick Oil Could Offset North Sea Losses and Add Billions to Economy
Oil production in the South of England could add billions to the economy and help offset the decline in North Sea production, a report says.
The study has been commissioned by UK Oil & Gas (UKOG), the company behind the plan to extract oil from the Gatwick area.
The report, by consultants EY, said production could generate between £7bn and £52bn over a 40-year period.
But thousands of wells might be drilled at up to 100 locations.
The majority of the jobs and much of the economic impact would also be outside the region.
The study attempts to estimate the economic impact of further production under a range of scenarios.
UKOG is involved in oil exploration at Horse Hill in Surrey, three miles from Gatwick Airport.
Its focus is a geological formation called the Kimmeridge Clay which is present across much of the Weald, a region that spans Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire.
In April last year, UKOG’s chief executive Steve Sanderson told the BBC that there could be up to 100bn barrels of oil in the Weald.
“This report confirms UKOG’s view that the development of Kimmeridge Limestone oil in the Weald basin can make a very significant contribution to the economy, employment and energy security of the UK,” Mr Sanderson said.
Oil has been produced in the region for decades.
The findings
The report concludes that the economy could be boosted by between £7.1bn to £52.6bn over a 40-year period.
Total oil production over that period could range from 140 million to 1.125 billion barrels.
