Prospectors hoping to strike oil in wells on villagers’ doorsteps

Rathlin Energy (UK) Ltd, a subsidiary of Canada-based Connaught Oil and Gas Ltd, is seeking planning permission to drill for oil and gas at Crawberry Hill to the north-west of Walkington.

If approved, boreholes would be drilled to a depth of one-and-a-half miles in a 24-hour operation for up to 10 weeks. If preliminary tests are successful, drilling could continue on a second well at the site for another 10 weeks.

Tests to establish whether oil, gas or both are present in commercially viable quantities could take a further three months.

Jonathan Foster, health, safety, environmental and planning manager at Bridlington-based Moorhouse Drilling and Completions, which would construct the site, design the well and supervise the drilling, said it was hoped oil would be found.

He said: “I’ve been involved in many wells and quite a number were drilled where there wasn’t any gas or oil in commercial quantities, but we have to be positive or we wouldn’t invest the money to do so.

“We are looking at oil, we are looking at gas, but I just would lead more towards oil than gas because it means it’s easier to handle on site.

“If it’s oil we would pump some into tanks and remove it to a refinery, if it’s gas we would look to flare (light) the gas for a time to enable us to reflect on the worth and characteristics of the well, but we are leaning more towards oil.”

The drilling rig would be 49 metres high and there would also be a number of temporary tanks, pipework, generators, portable buildings, staff facilities and a car park at the site, which is in an agricultural field about half a mile from the nearest property, Westfield Farm in Walkington.

Samples of rock would be taken at five-metre intervals and examined by geologists.

If commercial quantities are found the company would suspend drilling pending the outcome of a further planning application to begin production. If the project is unsuccessful the land would be restored to its original condition within five weeks.

Neither Bishop Burton nor Walkington parish councils object to the scheme, although they both raise concerns about site traffic.

Bishop Burton Parish Council said its vehicles should be barred from the village, while its Walkington counterpart said that although the applicant had given assurances site traffic would not use that village, members were “very concerned” alternative routes along Wold Road and Newbald Road would be, which it felt were not suitable for heavy loads.

One letter of objection has been submitted to East Riding Council, which raises concerns including increased noise and traffic and the project’s “detrimental” impact on the environment.

Outlining its case in a report to East Riding Council’s planning committee, the applicant said new sources of fossil fuel were needed and the industry had begun to favour land-based operations to those at sea.

It said: “The UK is heavily dependent on obtaining energy from fossil fuels and this will continue for a number of years.

“The North Sea oil fields are gradually depleting, having peaked in 1999. It is imperative this supply is maintained and additional reserves of oil and gas are found.

“It is becoming significantly more viable for the exploration and development of onshore prospects.”

A report this year by the Department of Energy and Climate Change found that oil and gas were still supplying 60 per cent of the UK’s energy needs, despite the increasing contribution of renewable energy.

The report recommends the decision is deferred until comments are received from the authority’s highway control officers. The application will be considered by councillors on Thursday.