7 August 2015
UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC
("UKOG" or the "Company")
Update - PEDL143, Holmwood, Weald Basin, UK
UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (LSE AIM: UKOG) is pleased to announce that the Planning Inspectorate has upheld Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) Plc's ("Europa") appeal against Surrey County Council's refusal to grant planning consent for the drilling of one exploratory borehole and short term testing of the Holmwood prospect ('Holmwood') in the PEDL143 licence in the Weald Basin, Surrey. Therefore planning consent for the well has now been granted.
This is a major step-forward to the successful completion of UKOG's farmin to the PEDL143 licence announced on 29 June 2015. On completion of UKOG's farm-in with Egdon Resources U.K. Limited ("Egdon"), the Company will hold a 20% licence interest in PEDL143.
An application for planning permission to drill the Holmwood prospect on PEDL143 was submitted in 2008 and was dismissed by Surrey County Council in 2011. A planning appeal in 2012 was dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate. Europa successfully challenged this decision in the High Court in 2013. In 2014 the Court of Appeal upheld the 2013 High Court judgment in the Company's favour and a second planning appeal was heard at an eight day public inquiry in April and June 2015. The Planning Inspectorate issued a decision to allow the appeal on 7 August 2015.
Stephen Sanderson, UKOG's CEO commented:
"We are delighted with the outcome of the planning appeal. We now look forward to concluding the farmin with Egdon and to expanding our licence holding in the Weald, our core business area. The Holmwood well provides the Company with a valuable opportunity to leverage our proprietary knowledge and experience of the adjacent Horse Hill discovery to the benefit and future success of the PEDL143 partnership."
UKOG's interest in Holmwood:
Subject to the grant of planning consent for the Holmwood-1 well and subject to receipt of the necessary approval from the Oil & Gas Authority, UKOG will pay a 40% share of the Holmwood-1 exploration drilling costs in order to acquire a full 20% working interest in PEDL143 from Egdon.
UKOG's share of well costs will be capped at £1.2 million net to UKOG (i.e. 40% of a gross Holmwood-1 well cost estimate of £3 million). Gross well costs above £3 million, should they arise, will be met by UKOG, Egdon and other partner's pro-rata according to their working interests in PEDL143.
Qualified Person's Statement:
Stephen Sanderson, UKOG's Chairman, who has over 30 years of relevant experience in the oil industry, has approved the information contained in this announcement. Mr Sanderson is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London and is an active member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
For further information please contact:
UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC
Stephen Sanderson Tel: 020 7440 0640
WH Ireland (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
James Joyce / Mark Leonard Tel: 020 7220 1666
Square 1 Consulting (Public Relations)
David Bick / Mark Longson Tel: 020 7929 5599
GLOSSARY
prospect |
a project associated with a potential accumulation that is sufficiently well defined to represent a viable drilling target |
