Gatwick oil find: Horse Hill well now 'commercial reality', says UK Oil & Gas

UK Oil & Gas said oil extraction close to Gatwick is looking more like a viable venture

Todd Korol/Reuters

Clare Hutchison2 March 2016

The company behind the so-called Gatwick Gusher has said that tests at one of its oil wells near the Sussex airport have moved the project into "the zone of commercial reality".

UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) had previously estimated that there could be up to 100 billion barrels of oil beneath the south of England in areas such as the Weald Basin.

It has been testing the Horse Hill well in recent months and said on Tuesday that after the latest assessments "light, sweet oil has flowed freely to surface, without pumping, at an average stabilised rate in excess of 900 barrels per day".

The result was an improvement on previous tests and the company, led by Stephen Sanderson, said it provides "unequivocal proof of concept" at the site.

"The two Kimmeridge flow tests have not only shown that moveable oil exists within the Kimmeridge, but more importantly, that it can be extracted at commercial rates even from vertical wells without significant stimulation," he added.

"This result is therefore very significant for the company and the Weald Basin of the UK. The Kimmeridge play has moved from science project into the zone of commercial reality."

Shares in UKOG were up more than 15% at 2.93p in early trading.