Three groundwater monitoring boreholes have been installed at the Horse Hill oil site in Surrey, the owner UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) has announced.
In a statement to investors, the company said the boreholes were part of plans for water reinjection at the site.
UKOG said water reinjection would remove the need for tanker collections and disposal of saline formation water. This could improve net earnings at Horse Hill by about £250,000 a year, it added.
Water injection would also help to maintain reservoir pressure and improve oil recovery, UKOG said.
According to official data, Horse Hill has extracted 5,0733m3 of formation water since formal oil production began in March 2020.
The proportion of water in total liquid extracted at Horse Hill, known as the water cut, has been above 25% for most of this time.
The water cut peaked at 41% in September 2022. (The most recent data was for November 2022, when it reached 37%.)
UKOG said three months of baseline water testing in the boreholes was now underway before reinjection could begin.
The company’s chief executive, Stephen Sanderson, said the test boreholes were key to using the Horse Hill-2z well for water reinjection.
Horse Hill got permission to reinject water from the Environment Agency and industry regulator in May 2022. Planning permission was granted in September 2019 – but part of this decision is due to be challenged at the Supreme Court in June 2023.
DRILL OR DROP? 
At least they have plenty of water to compare it with. December figure of 162 (ksm3) is nearly an extra tankers worth up on November. At over £40k for each waste tanker it all adds up.
Pretty good then Mike. Cut down on the costs and one day they may pay some more tax! Except, they will probably be able to defer that because of delays brought about by? Protests!
Well we will just have to wait for earthquakes subsequent.
No need to wait, CJR. You could take a break in Cornwall or Wales and based on actual experience in the last couple of weeks, encounter one.
The one in Wales was fairly noticeable. Most residents who did, seemed to report that it was not their first experience, and some seemed to find it quite exciting-but not in the same way some antis do.
What’s an anti, Martin? Your sloppy use of the term seems to exclude yourself and all those who protest against anything.
I take it you are not anti anything? Presumably therefore pro despoliation of the planet, pro encouragement of greed, pro the problem-ridden development of nuclear, pro the exploitation of the developing world, pro aggressive capitalist endeavour, pro the enrichment of the rich, pro the maintenance of extreme hunger and poverty, pro whatever takes your fancy of the moment and maintains the status quo. I won’t go on.
The terms ‘protest’ and ‘anti’ in your lexicon are used to disparage those who can imagine and seek to advance a world in which things are better, less selfish and corrupt, more just and equitable, and is an example of the same supine attitude to social, ethical and scientific progress which has landed us in the current crisis your integrity forbids you to acknowledge.
As you exclude yourself from the ranks of your antis, is there anything you see yourself as pro, or are my guesses above correct?
Do think about words occasionally, Martin.They matter.
Ermm, I think it is you 1720 who has just declared what an anti is. Disparage? Not moi. Not that I value your definition of what words may, or may not, mean. Words from history sometimes do have interesting interpretations in some quarters, and say something about those quarters.
Just to engage with you a little bit, I don’t think I am anti much, apart from being anti others deciding what I should believe, or poor people in Mozambique should believe, and using fake terms such as denier to do so. The we, us and everyone I leave to the lonely activists. I spent many years in marketing. I know how it can be misused by others. Not anti that either, such is life, but I don’t ignore it either, maybe because if I had when I was employed then P45 would have followed.
I have previously stated a number of times that I quite understand the Nimbys. That is a term that is descriptive, others have defined it, not me. They are a pretty extensive bunch and sometimes have good points to make. Most are different from those who advertise their “protest” that upon examination was apparently protesting about something that didn’t actually happen. Can’t see the point of that. Can’t say I am too anti about it either, it explains, even subliminally. However, it does explain a bit more about my use of the term anti including all those who demonstrate (oops) they know little about what they are protesting about. If you want some numbers on that, look at the Tracker Survey and note how many claim little knowledge and how many claim against what many would have little knowledge of. All very Greta, with her don’t think be angry. Sorry, my word knowledge would define that as an oxymoron.
Yes, words do matter 1720. Your guesses are just that. However, signs of improvement, as you have not waited until I am deceased to make them. More work required though on your moral high ground and repeated virtue signaling, but at least “we” have avoided Putin for you to still do so. That would fit into the few areas I am anti, simply because it is rarely justified.
“Pro enrichment of the rich” that about sums you up, 1720. I am certainly not anti that if the rich have justified it. Maybe Pfizer will increase my pension as a result of their enrichment, maybe I would not have been alive to receive a pension if they had not been enriched from developing a vaccine, maybe they will take some of the enrichment and invest it into other life saving medicines. The NHS would be doing pretty badly without enrichment of the rich-such as consultants, such as GPs, such as pharmaceutical companies.
Ahh, just remembered my big anti-those who ignore common sense.
Do think about words, 1720.