North Lincolnshire Council has provided planning consent for the further development of the Wressle oil and gas exploration site in the UK.
The approved works, in the north of the country, will include extending the existing site to accommodate the drilling of two new wells, said an official company statement released on Monday.
The approval process also includes the construction of gas processing facilities and an underground gas pipeline to connect Wressle to the local gas distribution network.
Discovered in 2014, the Wressle field is located in onshore licences PEDL180 and PEDL182 on the western margin of the Humber Basin, North Lincolnshire.
The field is co-owned by Europa Oil and Gas and Egdon Resources, which both own 30% each, and Union Jack Oil, which owns 40%.
Europa’s financial results for the first half of 2024 (H1 2024) showed that Wressle’s net production decreased by 57% to 88 barrels of oil per day (bopd), from 207 in H1 2023, due to a three-month shutdown period required to source and install a jet pump for an artificial lift on the Wressle-1 well.
Wressle is expected by its owners to eventually achieve 950bpd and slightly reduce the UK’s reliance on oil and gas imports. The field has recovered 56.69% of its total recoverable reserves, with peak production in 2023 and a forecasted economic limit in 2029.
Europa CEO Will Holland and Union Jack Oil executive chairman David Bramhill confirmed that the "development programme at Wressle will increase oil production and monetise the associated gas from the field, which will result in zero routine flaring at site”.
The approval for the additional well comes despite the Labour Government’s clampdown on the UK oil and gas industry through a windfall tax and the removal and reduction of investment and capital allowances.
In his statement, Holland added that “I believe that domestic production has a vital role to play in the UK as we progress towards the net-zero 2050 target.”
On 10 September, Europa stated its intention to submit a planning application to build a gas drilling rig at Burniston Mill, Scarborough, “before the end of November” despite local community opposition.
According to Europa, the site design will consider the results of these surveys and include measures to mitigate the impacts during the well site’s construction and drilling.
Any appraisal operations at Burniston are subject to planning permission by the mineral planning authority within North Yorkshire Council.
