Hampshire 'sitting on a goldmine' as 100 billion barrels of oil lies beneath the south

Experts have revealed that up to 100 billion barrels of oil are lying beneath the south – ten times the amount produced by the largest North Sea oil field found in the past 20 years.

It follows drilling carried out at Horse Hill, near Gatwick airport last year by a leading exploration firm, UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG).

Horse Hill is part of the Weald Basin, a huge region that spans Surrey, Sussex and eastern edge of Hampshire.

Last year the British Geological Survey said the Weald held about 4.4 billion barrels of oil – but that now appears to be a massive under-estimate.

UKOG’s chief executive, Stephen Sanderson, said the area could turn out to be the largest onshore oil field discovered in the UK for three decades.

The Weald is thought to contain more than twice the amount of “black gold” produced by the North Sea over the past 40 years.

Experts suspect that only a fraction is likely to be recovered. But Mr Sanderson said the area still had the potential to satisfy 30 per cent of the UK’s oil demand by the year 2030, improving its energy security and balance of payments.

A massive oil exploration project would also give Hampshire’s economy its biggest boost in decades.

As reported in the Daily Echo, oil has already been found in four parts of the county, including three areas south of Winchester, Basingstoke and Andover.

Asked about the implications of yesterday’s UKOG announcement Stewart Dunn, chief executive of Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “This will be good news for the county, bringing new jobs and benefitting the local supply chain.”

Businesses likely to benefit include Fawley refinery, which already processes 270,000 barrels of oil a day.

But any attempt to turn the south into Britain’s Texas is likely to spark a massive environmental protest, especially if it involves an area outstanding natural beauty such as the New Forest.

The New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) and other organisations are already concerned about plans to build a huge wind farm off the Hampshire coast.

However, opposition to the Navitus Bay project would be dwarfed by the reaction to any proposal to carry out fracking or some other form of oil exploration.

Fracking involves drilling thousands of feet underground and then pumping in pressurised water to crack the rocks and release trapped pockets of oil or gas. The controversial technique has been linked to earthquakes and other environmental problems.

Councillor David Harrison, a member of the NPA, said he was “somewhat surprised” to learn that large amounts of oil had been found in the south.

He added: “My enthusiasm is somewhat muted.

“It’s obviously something that will go a long way towards meeting our future energy requirements but we must not allow this to slow progress on developing renewable means of generating energy and tackling climate change by reducing carbon emissions.

“I want our National Parks to be spared from oil extraction, particularly the New Forest.”

Friends of the Earth campaigner Brenda Pollock added: “The prospect of dirty oil extraction in southern England will greatly alarm local communities and put fracking firmly on the region’s election agenda.

“Any firm proposing to drill for oil in the region knows it will face huge opposition – drilling proposals in Sussex have already been turned down.

“The next Government must end our reliance on climate-changing fossil fuels and invest in real solutions to the energy challenges we face, such as renewable power and energy efficiency.”

A Greenpeace spokesman added: “Dotting the countryside with drilling rigs and pipelines to squeeze the last drop of oil out of Britain doesn't make any sense.

"It's time we uncoupled our economy from the dangerous roller-coaster of fossil fuels and invested in the clean technologies that can provide safe and cheap energy for decades to come.”

But experts claimed that UKOG’s figure of up to 100 billion barrels of oil was based on a “theoretical estimate” for the Weald’s potential.

They added that the amount of oil likely to be extracted depended on a range of factors, including the price it was likely to fetch and whether companies could obtain permission to drill in the South Downs National Park.

The New Forest enjoys similar protection, which would prevent any extraction taking place in the district if oil is found that far west.

An NPA spokesman added: “We already have a minerals and waste plan in place which affords a good level of protection from oil and gas development.”