East Yorkshire drillsite will produce enough gas for 380,000 homes Rathlin Energy says

The owners of a drillsite in East Yorkshire have admitted they’ve encountered difficulties but claim they’ll be able to meet the gas demands of more than 380,000 UK homes “for many years to come".

An update from exploration company Rathlin Energy (UK), which has been involved with the site near Burton Constable Hall for over a decade, indicates there will be “less oil production” than previously thought.

They plan to install a pipeline to deliver natural gas from the site directly to the National Grid.

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The news should allay the concerns of residents worried at the prospect of large numbers of HGVs trucking oil from the site. The site has been quiet for some time, but there have been repeated protests in the past by anti-fossil fuel campaigners.

Archive pic of the West Newton A wellsiteArchive pic of the West Newton A wellsite
Archive pic of the West Newton A wellsite

However shares in Reabold Resources PLC and Union Jack Oil PLC, which own a 56 per cent and a 17 per cent interest respectively in the West Newton site, dipped after the update, which concluded that the formation was “very sensitive to aqueous fluids”. It said the use of water-based mud had caused “near wellbore damage” in the Kirkham Abbey reservoir.

The company has applied to the Environment Agency to use oil-based drilling fluids instead.

It said securing a local supply of gas is a “much-needed part of the energy mix as the UK seeks to reduce its reliance on foreign gas”.

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According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK imported £19.6 billion of gas in 2021 – a 312 per cent leap from £4.8 billion in 2020. Most homes in England and Wales are heated by mains gas supply; Norway is the biggest supplier, along with Qatar, the United States and Russia. 

The site is off a rural country lane in HoldernessThe site is off a rural country lane in Holderness
The site is off a rural country lane in Holderness

In the update Rathlin Energy said the Kirkham Abbey reservoir contains gas, primarily methane, with associated light oil.

It said commercial production could start as early as 2026 – as long as regulatory approvals are “expedited and supply chain delays can be managed”.

They have already ordered steel casing they need to extend the well by horizontal drilling and are looking at the availability of drilling rigs.

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A statement added: “From a local resident perspective, a development with more gas production and less oil production will significantly reduce the volume of truck traffic associated with production and allow for the installation of a pipeline to deliver natural gas directly to the National Grid.

“Domestically produced natural gas is, and will remain, a much-needed part of the energy mix as the UK seeks to reduce its reliance on foreign gas, whether delivered by pipeline or as LNG in oceangoing tankers."

In 2020 the North Sea Transition Authority, the government-owned company which regulates oil and gas activity, stated that locally produced natural gas “creates less than half as much greenhouse gas as imported liquified natural gas (LNG)”.

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