Former Surrey oil project sold for £1 million as new owners reapply for drilling

The Horse Hill onshore oil licence, once valued at up to £46 million, was sold by UK Oil and Gas for £1 million after the Supreme Court’s 2024 “Finch” ruling mandated that planning authorities consider downstream greenhouse-gas impacts. UKOG, now renamed UK Energy Group, wrote down the asset to £55,360 and is redirecting capital toward salt-cavern energy storage and hydrogen projects in south Dorset and Yorkshire. Energy B, controlling Horse Hill Developments Ltd, has lodged a fresh planning application with Surrey county council for four production wells, a processing area, tanker loading and a reinjection well, targeting roughly 678,693 tonnes of oil over two decades.

The proposal estimates 2.3 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions, which campaigner Sarah Finch argues is significant and non-compliant with new guidance. Experts cite the case as an example of “regulatory stranding” where climate litigation erodes fossil-fuel asset values. The council’s decision, due this month, will test the enforcement of the Finch ruling.