Angus Energy today announce that, further to its RNS of 2 March 2021 and 2 August 2021, its appeal against the decision by West Sussex County Council to refuse permission for an extended well test at its Balcombe oil site has been upheld.

Angus Energy has a 25% interest in the Balcombe field discovery (PEDL 244) targeting the Kimmeridge limestones.  The Balcombe 2Z horizontal sidetrack was drilled in 2013 and permission for a flow test was granted in 2018. The test evidenced a definitive oil show with high flow rates for short periods.

The planning permission expired prior to the completion of clean up operations leaving a quantity of, what the Company subsequently determined to be, left-over drilling fluids from the 2013 operation. 

Hence a new planning permission was applied for in 2020 in order to complete the clean-up exercise and follow with an extended well test. 

As a consequence of yesterday's decision by the Planning Inspectorate, the Company is now capable of pursing this well test subject to satisfaction of planning conditions noted in the Appeal Decision as well as the determination of the variation to the Environmental Permit by the Environment Agency which we understand to be imminent.

BALCOMBE FIELD DISCOVERY

• Licence: PEDL244
• Licence Area: 154km²
• Location: Weald Basin, SE of Crawley
• Operator: Angus Energy
• Angus Interest: 25%
• Partners: Cuadrilla Balcombe Ltd. 56.25%, Lucas Bolney Ltd. 18.75%
• Wells: Balcombe 1, Balcombe 2Z (to be tested)

Angus Energy holds a 25% stake in and is the Operator of, the Balcombe Discovery along with its partners Cuadrilla and Lucas Bolney. The Balcombe site lies approximately 8km south east of Crawley near the village of Balcombe. The conventional oil accumulation lies on the downthrown side of the Borde Hill Fault, with dip closure present both to the east and west at Upper Jurassic level. The field is positioned in a prime central location of the Weald Basin, where buried rock intervals are at their  thickest, and oil source rock intervals at their most mature.

The Balcombe Discovery is considered to be in the ‘sweet spot’ of the Weald Basin given the 568m thickness and highest maturity of the Kimmeridge layers. Regional work by Angus has established that the Kimmeridge micrite layers encountered at  Balcombe can be regionally correlated across to both the Brockham oil field and Horse Hill, where in 2016 UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC and their partners announced excellent flow rates from the Upper and Lower Kimmeridge Micritic limestone  reservoirs.

Angus Energy tested the Balcombe 2Z well in the Autumn of 2018 and achieved strong oil flow rates to surface. However, the oil production rates were restricted by drilling fluids not totally recovered from the well. 

 KeyFacts Energy: Angus Energy UK country profile