UK Oil & Gas Investment Plc (LON:UKOG) boss Stephen Sanderson said he is looking forward to returning to the Horse Hill site as the onshore oil firm issued a statement confirming that a new programme had received planning consent.
The AIM-quoted company is the leading stakeholder in Horse Hill, owning a 32.43% interest in the project.
Earlier this afternoon, Surrey County Council approved a proposal for a new programme of drilling, including an entirely new well and a sidetrack to an existing well, plus a new long term production test.
UKOG in a statement described the council decision as being “overwhelmingly in favour” of the planning application.
Prior to today’s announcement, in September, the company said it envisaged the start of operations during the fourth quarter of this year - albeit, the work will be done by the same team currently operating on the Broadford Bridge well where additional work is expected.
In terms of timing, UKOG this afternoon guided that the Horse Hill programme would start as soon as a flow testing programme has been completed at Broadford Bridge.
Sanderson, in a statement, said: “This is welcome news for the planned Horse Hill Portland and Kimmeridge appraisal programmes, both of which are key steps towards our goal of delivering stable first oil production by early 2019.
“Horse Hill operations are scheduled to follow the current Broadford Bridge-1z flow testing and will build upon and benefit from the many learnings and insights gained to date.
“I look forward to HHDL's return to Horse Hill."
The approval is a boon for the UK oil firms that are invested in the project - including UK Oil & Gas Investments PLC (LON:UKOG, Solo Oil PLC (LON:SOLO) and Doriemus PLC (LON:DOR).
EUKOG and Solo Oil shares each moved higher on Wednesday afternoon, immediately after Surrey County Council approved planning permission at a committee meeting (which was livestreamed by the council).
The listed oil firms are all invested in the Horse Hill Development Limited (HHDL) vehicle, which owns a 65% stake in the asset.