UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (UKOG) has now announced results from the flow tests of the two Kimmeridge Limestone layers. Read their statement here

They claim to have found oil flowing at a rate of 900 barrels per day from the Upper Kimmeridge layer and say that “the planned use of horizontal appraisal and development wells may further significantly enhance production flow rates“.

Following results of the final flow test, in the Portland sandstone layer, Horse Hill Developments Limited (HHDL) “now plan to move full speed ahead to obtain the necessary permissions to return to the well, drill a horizontal sidetrack and conduct long term production tests.”

Local residents will oppose the planning application as they are concerned about the potential damage to air, water and the environment, the negative effect on property values, and the potential massive increase in tanker movements.

In the Evening Standard recently, UKOG Chairman Stephen Sanderson (who is also chairman of HHDL) was quoted complaining that drilling permissions that take days in Texas can take a couple of years here. Read the interview here

One local investor commented, “If he was really interested in the long-term energy security of the UK, a couple of years delay would be no problem. The fact that Mr Sanderson is bending the government’s ear to try and achieve Texas-style regulations is pretty convincing evidence that what we have here is a Ponzi scheme, and if he doesn’t get to drill quickly the whole thing will have collapsed.”