Company behind failed Surrey oilfield project sells site at massive loss
New owners apply for permission to extract oil in Horse Hill despite landmark ruling from supreme court in 2024 After years of trying to dig for oil in Surrey, the company behind the drilling project that was turned down in a landmark supreme court ruling has sold off the site for a fraction of the money it spent on it, and rebranded as a clean energy company. Meanwhile, the new owners, who…
The company behind a failed Surrey oilfield project, once known as UK Oil and Gas (UKOG), has sold off the Horse Hill site for £1m after a landmark 2024 supreme court ruling. The ruling, known as the Finch Ruling, stated that planning authorities must consider indirect downstream greenhouse gas emissions in environmental impact assessments.
Prior to the sale, UKOG had invested over £25m into the site and had written down the value of its Horse Hill interests to just £55,360. The new owners, Energy B, are applying again for permission to drill for oil at the site. Critics argue that the development would result in significant greenhouse gas emissions and undermine efforts to stay within the 1.5C global warming target.
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