The developer of the Horse Hill oil and gas project has halted oil drilling four months after its planning permission was canceled by the Supreme Court.
Surrey County Council has granted planning permission for four new wells and 20 years of oil production at Horse Hill. In 2019.
But after local resident Sarah Finch brought the case on behalf of the Weald Action Group and supported by Friends of the Earth, the Supreme Court ruled that when oil inevitably burns, The court ruled that the council’s actions in granting permission without taking into account the climate impacts were unlawful. .
unauthorized
This means the planning permission will be revoked and the council will have to make a new decision about the site.
And yet data The North Sea Transition Authority has revealed from the industry regulator that the Horse Hill plant produced 138 tonnes of oil at a rate of 33 barrels per day in July 2024. This means that the factory was operating without a permit.
Extinction Rebellion campaigners blocked the entrance to the site in Horley, Surrey, to protest the company’s continued extraction of fossil fuels in defiance of the ruling.
On October 22nd, the lawyers FoE has written to Surrey County Councilcalled for immediate enforcement action to be taken against unauthorized drilling within one week.
The group followed the legal opinion of leading planning and environmental lawyers James Maurici KC and Toby Fisher last year in relation to unauthorized coal mining at the Foz y Flan site in south Wales. warned that failure to crack down on unauthorized oil drilling is illegal. .
compliance
Following news that drilling had been halted, FoE’s lawyer Niall Toll said: “We are thrilled that the developers of the Horse Hill project have finally halted oil drilling on the site. It’s a gift.”
But he said the fact that the excavation went unchecked for four months raises “serious questions” for Surrey County Council.
British Oil and Gas confirmed in a statement that it had instructed HHDL to cease oil production at Horse Hill from Friday 25 October. The site added that it had been in contact with Surrey County Council since the date of the Supreme Court ruling regarding the status of the site.
Representatives from Surrey County Council visited the site on October 16, and other regulators were also kept updated.
“The Supreme Court’s judgment is not the result of any action, error or omission by the company or its subsidiary HHDL, and that HHDL has been fully compliant and responsible operator during its six-year production plan. We should be mindful of what we have done.”I agree.”
execution
Under the agreement with the council, detailed plans will be put in place to completely shut down related operations and activities, including emptying and cleaning storage tanks, flow lines and other process equipment.
It added that HHDL still plans to reapply for planning permission on the site.
In a statement, Surrey County Council said it was pleased that commercial oil production at the site had ceased.
“However, there is ongoing discussion regarding a complete shutdown of the site, and as such, the county’s planning enforcement investigation remains ongoing,” it added.
this author
Katherine Early is a freelance environmental journalist and chief reporter for The Ecologist. She tweets at @Cat_Early76.
