The ‘Gatwick Gusher Oil Well’ faces its day of reckoning

It is not uncommon for pinstriped businessmen from Surrey to be involved in oil prospecting. One firm, however, captured the imagination in 2015 when it discovered what was called the “Gatwick Gusher”, a oil deposit which could contain up to 100 billion gallons of crude — almost twice as much as North Sea produced in the last 40 years.

Stephen Sanderson, the chief executive of UK Oil and Gas at the time, said that Gatwick Gusher was “a good name for it”. He said: “We believe it’s of great national significance.”

UKOG attracted retail investors due to the enthusiasm of David Lenigas. He was an Australian mining engineer who had a large following but a mixed track record. Lenigas left the company shortly after, but UKOG’s stock price soared.

Sanderson’s enthusiasm for the Gatwick Gusher has diminished over eight years. He said that the well at Horse Hill was a “modest sized onshore oil field”. He said it was “capable” of producing a reasonable amount, but that more investment would be needed. According to the North Sea Transition Authority, Horse Hill produces just 50 barrels per day.

Horse Hill is protected by metal gates, and an old security cabin. A public footpath that is overgrown to the side of site provides glimpses of portable cabins, a vertical rig and the smell of diesel fumes. Horses play in the adjacent field.

This week, a long-running legal battle about its future is set to intensify. The campaigners, who are afraid of earthquakes and disturbances from the site, want to stop UKOG’s plans to expand Horse Hill through drilling four new deep wells. The campaigners have sued Surrey County Council, who granted the planning permission. The case will be heard Wednesday.

This is not a fight over a tiny well. The future of fossil fuel extraction is at stake, which could include offshore oil or even mining. Campaigners claim that the council made a mistake when it granted planning permission by failing to take into account the carbon emissions generated by the eventual burning of Horse Hill’s product. These emissions, also known as “Scope 3”, would contradict the UK’s commitment to achieve net zero by the year 2050.

Sarah Finch, a local resident and campaigner who is now the focus of the case, said: “It has moved beyond being about a local issue.” “[If we are successful], any development that is of a certain scale would be required to take into account its downstream Scope 3 emission.” This could accelerate the shift away from oil and natural gas.

The oil and gas industry disagrees with this view, as it is not in favor of a planning approval based on the final use of the resource. Sanderson, admitting to be “bemused”, compares the situation to a supermarket having to pay for emissions from a customer grilling sausages.

The industry is quick in arguing that fossil fuels are still needed, even though we’re boosting wind and solar energy. It says that limiting new oil and natural gas projects will increase our dependency on imported energy.

Currently, we are dependent on the importation of liquid natural gases. We compete with dozens of countries. We wouldn’t need to do this if we were more self sufficient,” said a spokesperson for UK Onshore Oil and Gas.

Not everyone is convinced. Katie de Kauwe is a lawyer for Friends of the Earth. She said, “Nobody knows where the oil will be used.” There’s no guarantee that it will be used in England. This is clearly not about energy.

The Climate Change Committee of the UK government, its own advisor, suggested last year that “a presumption should be made against the expansion” in fossil fuel production. Labour has said it won’t issue any new oil and gas exploration licences if they win power.

Finch’s case was allowed to be brought to the Supreme Court only because one of the three judges at the Court of Appeal had agreed that the case was valid. West Cumbria Mining is one of the interested parties that has submitted submissions to court. It wants to open up a coal mine to be used for steelmaking.

Locals in Surrey are planning to hike six miles today to spread awareness about the campaign. The saga at times has been compared to a modern-day Ealing Comedy, with David fighting another David rather than Goliath. UKOG’s current market value is around PS12 million. Years ago, protesters used a mobile toilet to keep track of the movements on Horse Hill. The campaigners still use Zoom to plan their next moves.

Lisa Scott-Conte is a Green Party Parish Councillor. She insists that the fight is about more than just nimbyism. She said, “It is like passive smoking. We should make rules to ensure people who aren’t directly involved in oil extraction don’t get affected by its burning.”

The site is not very noticeable. In fact, a cafe manager in Horley admitted that he had never heard of it. Sanderson, UKOG, noted that the British Geological Survey cleared the company from any fault. However, some residents have complained about earthquakes caused by the Horse Hill drilling damaging homes.

Stuart Haszeldine is a professor of carbon storage and capture at the University of Edinburgh. He said that the geology around Gatwick once supported a large amount of oil but it has now leaked out. “What’s left are these smaller deposits, which are, in comparison with the North Sea, minnow fields. “Minnow companies are in charge of these fields, and that’s the reason they exist,” he added.

UKOG announced earlier this year a deal for a “farming out” of fresh production from Horse Hill to a different operator, PennPetro Energy. PennPetro Energy would receive a portion of the revenues. Lenigas is the executive chair of PennPetro.

UKOG is focusing on a Dorset hydrogen storage project that Sanderson thinks will yield greater rewards. He said that this would require working with “strategic investor” beyond the retail crowd, who have remained loyal to UKOG even though it has sold stock to fund its operations – around 21 billion shares in issue are currently. “We are moving away from oil and natural gas.” Sanderson stated that “it’s not the future”.