On the 18th August, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) announced the first tranche of new licences which will be offered to companies to explore for Gas/Oil/Shale gas/Coalbed Methane. 27 licences have been offered to companies, exclusively in the Midlands and North of England. A further 132 licences could be offered across the country once appropriate environmental assessments have taken place. The announcement for the additional licences is expected around November 2015. There will be no new licences given for any sites in Scotland or Wales.
Our consultants have reviewed the information and found that whilst 44.4% of England, Wales and Scotland was earmarked for potential licensing, only 0.94% was offered in this tranche, with a possible addition of 4.11% pending assessment. This means that a maximum of 8.88% of England (and 5.04% of England, Wales and Scotland overall) will be offered for new oil and gas exploration permits in this round of licensing – a significant reduction on the original proposals. This will provide peace of mind for those whose areas were previously at risk of exploration projects.
In line with these developments, we have updated our energy report to include this data and will further update our reports once the next tranche of licences are offered. Our planning application data relating to oil and gas exploration is updated on a weekly basis, ensuring further certainty for your client’s purchase.
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