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BRITAIN MAY HAVE discovered an oil deposit beneath the south of England containing the equivalent of 100 billion barrels.
After exploratory drilling last year at Horse Hill near Gatwick Airport UK Oil and Gas Investments (UKOGI), the expoloration firm responsible, have confirmed that that particular drill-site alone could yield up to 158 million barrels.
The find would represent the biggest oil strike in the UK for at least the last 30 years.
To put the 100 billion barrel figure into context, that is more than twice the amount of oil produced by Britain’s north sea oil drilling platform over the last 40 years.
Stephen Sanderson, CEO of UKOGI, has deemed the find a ‘possible world class potential resource’ in a an investor briefing note.
Sanderson does admit however that geological factors mean that a maximum of 15% of the oil vein is likely to be recovered. That could still leave this particular oil find providing up to 30% of the UK’s demand by 2030.
“Based on what we’ve found here, we’re looking at between 50 and 100 billion barrels of oil in place in the ground,” Sanderson told the BBC.
We think we’ve found a very significant discovery here, probably the largest onshore in the UK in the last 30 years, and we think it has national significance.
Onshore oil production is nothing new in the south of England.
It has been conducted in the Weald area (a region spanning Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Hampshire. and also where Horse Hill is located) for decades.
Currently, there are around a dozen oil production sites situated in the area.
The discovery is certainly good news for the consumer.
Despite recent falls in the price of oil given a worldwide production glut, long-term prices for oil and gas are expected to rise unless energy companies start discovering more of the resources or finding better production methods.
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Go noonan, there is only one way you can satisfy electorate, burn senior bondholders or else loose all respect from us, If you back out.
He looks like a bull dog chewing a wasp, but I think hes the only one with any guts and backbone in the Government and that he has found his place in Finance. Burn ‘em Michael, look after Ireland before the EU currency! The EU will do everything it can to keep the Euro so tell ‘em we will burn them all, close the banks and open our own new bank not linked to EU based on Irish deposits and then see what they have to say about interet rates and corporation tax – tell ‘em will cut that too if they mention it again !
Could Ireland being getting a pair of liathroidi. About time.
Merkle and sarkozi (which my iPhone autocorrects to ‘warlock’ ha!) are so reluctant to burn the bondholders because most of them are French and German. It has everything to do with protecting their own patch and trying to get re-elected, and nothing to do with the good of Europe as a whole. We need to be part of Europe, but the cowtowing and grovelling needs to be over. The bondholders should have to carry their own pain, it was a failed investment. If they could reap the benefits, which they did, they should have to take the burden as well.
It’s like a poker game out there , and Noonan has the face and the balls to get us a better deal .who else would you send ,(he’s from Limerick )
Anyone explain how a Greek default would have consequences for Ireland?
Just wondering.
Putting more debt on top of more debt in Greece is solving nothing………and very bad financial advice…………I hope the people on the streets of Greece win….
The euro is a cobbled together currency and is doomed to failure,its only function is to keep Merkin and Kermit important in their own minds.
Several of the newspaper pundits forecast [ some six months ago ?] that the real crunch would come here in June/July when the fight to pay bills got too much and when the money borrowed from family and friends to avoid the shame of not paying the mortgage dried up.I think one writer gave advice on how to stuff the building society and keep the roof over ones head by using the courts ? Will we see this happen in the next few weeks?
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