JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The consortium seeking to develop the Horse Hill oil and gas project, near Gatwick Airport, is hoping to receive approval from the Surrey County Council for long-term production testing and the drilling of more wells later this year.

Horse Hill Developments Limited (HHDL), which owns 65% of the licences comprising the Horse Hill-1 (HH-1) project, in the Weald basin, has been advised that the council will consider the Horse Hill planning application at the scheduled meeting of either August or September.

Aim-listed UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG), which has the biggest share in HHDL, said on Monday that the application would seek consent for long-term production tests at HH-1 and to drill two further wells. In March last year, HH-1 flow testing had showed a “significant” commercial aggregate stable dry oil rate of 1 688 bbl/d of oil.

Planning permission is also sought for the appraisal programme of the productive Kimmeridge Limestone and Portland reservoirs.

Meanwhile, UKOG announced that it had agreed to acquire a 1.9% shareholding in HHDL from fellow-listed Regency Mines. On completion of the transaction, the company would hold a 32.435% beneficial interest in the onshore Weald basin licences PEDL137 and PEDL246. The licences, covering 143 km² north of Gatwick Airport, contain the HH-1 Portland sandstone and Kimmeridge Limestone oil discoveries.

UKOG also has the right of first refusal to Regency’s remaining 3.1% interest in HHDL for 18 months.

Regency will receive £323 000 for the sale of 1.9% of HHDL, which it will reinvest in UKOG shares at 1.55p a share.

"This acquisition fits perfectly within UKOG's stated strategy to further consolidate and increase its holdings in the Kimmeridge oil play in the Weald,” executive chairperson Stephen Sanderson said.

He stated that the Kimmeridge and Portland projects were on course for stable oil production by end 2018 or early 2019.