A suspended oil site in West Sussex, where no work has been carried out for nearly six years, could supply geothermal heat for farming, including tea production, according to new plans.
The operator of the mothballed Broadford Bridge oil exploration site, near Billingshurst, is seeking to delay restoration for a fifth time.
UK Oil & Gas plc (UKOG) has submitted a planning application to extend the life of the site for two more years while it decides what to do with it.
The company said the “authorised purpose” of Broadford Bridge remained oil and gas extraction.
But it said:
“UKOG have been assessing the site’s potential to operate as a private agricultural heat source
for commercial fruit, vegetable, or tea production, uses which have proved viable in other rural
locations.”
It said:
“Whilst UKOG are confident of the heat supply, additional time is needed to identify a viable heat demand and any development needs that may flow.
“UKOG accept that should a viable heat ‘off-taker’ be identified, a further planning permission would be required to authorise the re-purposing of the site for geothermal energy and agricultural production.”
No work has been carried out at Broadford Bridge since March 2018, following reports of possible damage to the oil well and surrounding rock formation.
UKOG wants to keep the site suspended for another two years, with no drilling or testing.
It said the time would be used to review data from the Horse Hill oil site, and the would-be Loxley gas site, near Dunsfold, both in Surrey.
This is the fifth request for a time extension at Broadford Bridge since planning permission was first granted for oil exploration in 2011. Extensions were granted in:
- 2017 for one year
- 2018 for 18 months
- 2020 for two years
- 2022 for another two years
This time, UKOG blamed the need to postpone restoration on legal challenges involving both Horse Hill and Loxley.
It said assessment work at Horse Hill had been delayed by a case brought by Sarah Finch against Surrey County Council, currently being considered by the Supreme Court.
No work has been carried out at the Loxley site, where campaigners are seeking to challenge planning permission. Their case could go to the Court of Appeal this year.
The planning statement for the latest application said data from either Horse Hill or Loxley would:
“help determine the extent of the reserves, the mix of hydrocarbons, the flow rates and the pressures at play within the target formations.
“This information will help determine the need for further testing and appraisal at Broadford Bridge and its potential for commercial success. Put simply, the data is critical for the future planning of the Broadford Bridge Site.”
The planning statement said the UK’s domestic oil and gas industry was a “major contributor to the economy” and was crucial to “keeping the lights on”.
The delay in restoration would, it said, “keep alive a site that has the potential to assist the UK’s transition to a long-term low-carbon future without compromising the energy security or sustainable growth in the short-to-medium term”.
The statement added that the extension would also “provide valuable information to help inform future mineral exploration and extraction across the wider Weald Basin formation”.
The proposal was “precisely the kind of investment required by national energy and planning policy”, UKOG said. It made the “best use” of mineral resources and reduced the vulnerability of being a net importer of energy.
The latest production data, analysed this month by DrillOrDrop, showed onshore oil contributed 1.9% to UK total oil production, while onshore gas contributed 1.3% to total domestic output.
A public consultation on the proposed delay to restoration at Broadford Bridge is now underway until 25 January 2024. A decision is due around 15 March 2024.
DrillOrDrop will report on the progress of the application through the planning system and the reactions to it.
Link to DrillOrDrop’s key facts and timeline for Broadford Bridge
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DRILL OR DROP? 
Asking geologists out there: what are the possible environmental impacts of geothermal energy extraction in hydrocarbon-rich formations? And how does earthquake risk of a geothermal well compare with that of a hydrocarbon well? Is there yet data, or enough data? Would existing hydrocarbon sites in the Weald provide sufficient permeability for geothermal? We were told, and later untold, that the hydrocarbon wells would require stimulation (fracking, acidising, whatever they want to call it). What might the implications be for fugitive hydrocarbons, including methane, from recent drillings as well as old wells of the 1980s?
Kathryn, in a closed-loop geothermal system you are extracting only heat. No fluids or gases. Permeability is therefore unnecessary and earthquake risk is therefore insignificant. Ideal for a district heating system. The expensive part of the equation (drilling the hole) being already complete should also make the economics particularly attractive.
There are plans to tap into old mine workings in Kilmarnock using a grant from the Scottish Government to prove the concept.
How much of industrial-scale as opposed to domestic geothermal is closed loop? I see mixed views on line of the viability of closed loop in former hydrocarbon wells. One person selling industrial-scale CL systems praises them for the following (but if you remove the negatives in this list, you see what you might get with a traditional multi-frack geothermal method… no surprises here) :
Air and Water Quality
Consume little or no process water.
Reduce problems with saline and corrosive brines inside the system.
Fewer effluent and waste disposal problems and permitting issues.
Does not interfere with subsurface water.
Public Safety and Environmental Soundness
No surface subsidence.
No waste streams.
No hazardous chemicals.
No risk of induced seismicity.
Another guy selling fracking fluids/equipment says no way will closed loop ever be viable, not enough downhole heat transfer from the rock.
I suspect UKOG and friends would love to transfer their oily skills and frack for heat… in a hydrocarbon réservé? What could go right?
Anyway, a new subject for some and worth being clued up in advance.
You mean that people selling something tell their side of the story, Kathryn? Is that how one arrives at Frack Free for one lot of Nimbys? Isolating the truth from the fiction is not that difficult but speculation and fabrication are what produce the excitement. Not my cup of tea.
WELL MARTIN ,
We already are 100% certain about the proven dangers of Fracking
It’s been shown to be a highly toxic, environmentally damaging , climate changing process that is dangerous to human and animal health.. That devalues homes in Fracking areas and leaves a toxic financial burden for future generations.
If there’s ANYTHING you dispute in the above , I’d once again be delighted to fill this page with evidence…
PS …… Do remember to supply evidence with your comments … Failure to do so will render what you say as just wild off-the-cuff ” OPINIONS “
No, “we” are not Jack. I could refer to someone who stated quite clearly that what is reported to happen in USA regarding energy provision is not relevant to UK. I have supplied the evidence to that many times previously. There is a record-a link, evidence-so it must be true! The readers are aware of it. It has rendered you obsolete, Jack. Someone who gets carried away with the excitement of propaganda but arrives at the buffers at high speed, with the obvious consequences. I can think of someone who has posted on DoD who might like to imply-also-it is down to the cargo you try and transport. Especially in USA, Jack, where they have railways, as “we” do in UK but somehow seem to get a lot more derailments. One would have hoped with low energy costs they could improve their transportation, wouldn’t one?
So, Jack, it was YOU who ended up arguing with yourself. If you want to do that Jack, and avoid using fossil fuel in the process, surely you have a mirror?
I note the animal health twaddle, still. Hmm, try telling that to the minced birds or those poor swans to be seen dead caught up in power lines. It may be a bit more convincing if you had not previously exposed your ignorance about animals.
There is also an awful lot of fracking in Texas. There are also an awful lot of animals thriving, then being consumed frequently-probably too frequently-by an awful lot of Texans who can afford to do so as they are earning fracking good salaries and have much lower energy bills than here in UK. Probably then to die early in Texas through obesity, but is that worse than death through not being able to heat and eat?
Must away to a soft play party Jack. Your version of the same is just too easy to navigate. Boredom sets in too quickly.
MARTIN ,
Is that all you have to give , an OPINION backed up with NOTHING ?????
So then , for the benefit of the readers , YOU are choosing NOT to challenge what I say regarding the Highly Toxic Dangers of Fracking ??????
Nope, Jack, I am choosing to agree with your comment, based upon NOTHING, that what is reported to happen in USA energy supply is not relevant to UK. If you wish to be further embarrassed I could provide the reference but I suspect the readers are fully aware of the details of how you managed to get yourself into that mess.
If you want to promote two different opinions Jack, I will chose the one which has a little more reality involved. Hard to find Jack, but when I come across such rare pearls then I gleefully accept signs of rational thought. I can get propaganda from many other sources.
I still note the animal health twaddle was too difficult to defend. Don’t worry Jack, if there are any sick animals in Texas they enjoy an economy in that single State larger than that of Russia, so plenty of opportunity and resource to treat them and make them well. Not so sure about them surviving all those forest fires caused via electricity distribution in Texas though, Jack-reference previously supplied. (Which takes me back to first paragraph!)
The other soft play was fun-and cake was had! The link was the dinosaur featured. Another one to add to the extinct Dozen, Jack. But, I must be quiet about dinosaurs as someone may start to question whether climate change is all down to man.
Keep warm Jack. I note there is a cold weather warning issued-for UK. Come on UK oil and gas producers, do your stuff.
MARTIN , above you say , quote ” your comment, based upon NOTHING ”
FIRST OF ALL , I’d like to apologize to the DOD readers who must be sick to the back teeth of JACK keep posting the same things for MARTIN …Please understand , I do try and be ” fully inclusive ” for ALL people no matter how challenging the job …. For the 100th TIME , just for you MARTIN .
Are these FRACKING warnings nothing in your world MARTIN ?????
Fracking and Breast Cancer
https://www.bcaction.org/the-root-causes-of-breast-cancer/our-fossil-fuel-work/dont-frack-with-our-health/#:~:text=Overview,are%20linked%20to%20breast%20cancer.
Fracking linked to Leukemia in children
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/17/young-children-fracking-wells-leukemia-study
Fracking linked to premature death
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/living-near-or-downwind-of-unconventional-oil-and-gas-development-linked-with-increased-risk-of-early-death/⁹
Fracking linked to Asthma and Lymphoma in children
https://apnews.com/article/fracking-pennsylvania-health-environment-research-79dd7cfb9b3799e628b0c3667f30dcc4
MARTIN , what about this ?????
Fracking will hit house prices , warn estate agents
https://www.mortgagefinancegazette.com/market-news/housing/fracking-will-hit-house-values-warn-estate-agents-02-05-2015/
MARTIN ,
What about the warning from NASA , about the serious impacts on Climate Change from Fracking?????
http://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFM.U44A..03P/abstract
MARTIN , what about this Fracking Methane Hotspot ???????
Tiny U.S. Region Is Methane ‘Hot Spot,’ NASA Finds
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/tiny-us-region-is-methane-hot-spot-nasa-finds
LOOK how damaging to the climate Fracking is , how concerned are you MARTIN ??????
See my first sentence of 7th at 8.43am, Jack.
Your OPINION was that what has been reported regarding energy supply is not RELEVANT to UK. You posted it, readers are aware of it.
I tend to agree with the sentiment but if I had the time to waste I could fill dozens of pages (oops) with references to energy supply and distribution in other places that do not occur in UK. Having found one little bit of the I within your nonsense Jack, I will go with that and avoid the vast amount of the A.
By the way, there ARE reports already that UK estate agents are discounting the price of houses where new electricity distribution is planned to carry RENEWABLE energy. Talking about some piddling little compensation schemes to placate the householders.
Hmm, so little awareness of the UK Jack, you will always plonk out the unfortunate A. Sometimes amusing but usually just artificial.
SO MARTIN , again I ask for the benefit of the readers , let’s cut through all the Collywaffle.
Do you accept the following as true ??????
FRACKING has been shown to be a highly toxic, environmentally damaging , climate changing process that is dangerous to human and animal health.. That devalues homes in Fracking areas and leaves a toxic financial burden for future generations.
If there’s ANYTHING you dispute in the above ???????
Yes, Jack, all of it.
Irrelevant to the UK.
MARTIN ,
IRRELEVANT, TO UK , ” you say ”
When your endlessly pushing for UK Fracking , churning out all sorts of Collywaffle OPINIONS , backed up with zero evidence.
I’d say it’s extremely RELEVANT
The people need to know about these proven dangers which the industry would like to push under the carpet.
YOU said the IRRELEVANT bit, Jack. I just happened to agree as it was a sensible (rare) statement from yourself.
If you had stated oil extraction in Venezuela leaves something to be desired, I could have agreed with that too. If you had stated oil extraction in Nigeria leaves something to be desired. I could have agreed with that too. If you found reported concerns about either, I would just have stated-what on earth has that to do with UK? It would have been IRRELEVANT Jack, and it may have taken days and days of work but “we” would still have arrived at the point where you were forced to admit it.
Then, as “we” could have found lots more sources of imported supply of oil and gas to UK had reports of issues, Jack, “we” could have arrived at the OBVIOUS conclusion that “we” could do it so much better in the UK! Like the many times before Jack, my advice is free-when you start to paint the floor start in the corner away from the door and paint your way towards it, otherwise you end up looking rather silly surrounded by wet paint and no way to get out without ruining what you had tried to produce.
In other words Jack, your card was a Joker, not a knave, sometimes known as?????? JACK.
Oh dear, just noticed the news about Loxley. The lawyers will be miffed that gravy train has hit the buffers.
WARNING , red flag , diversionary Collywaffle ALERT .
MARTIN , let’s focus on the proven toxic dangers of Fracking and why you continually try and push this toxic industry on the UK , regardless of knowing the dangers.
Do you want JACK to provide you with more evidence ?????? ? PLEASE SAY YES , as I will be more than happy to fill this page with factual evidence , like this for instance.
FRACKING and the link to BIRTH DEFECTS and CANCER
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/04/fracking-projects-in-nt-risk-exposing-people-to-cancer-and-birth-defects-report-finds
Or maybe this ,
TOXIC CHEMICALS USED IN FRACKING SHOWN TO CAUSE MISCARRIAGE, BIRTH DEFECTS AND INFANT MORTALITY
https://blog.degruyter.com/toxic-chemicals-used-in-fracking-shown-to-cause-miscarriage-birth-defects-and-infant-mortality/
Wot, Jack, you want me to argue with one of you and not the other!!!??
Sorry Jack, you can argue the incoherence that one Jack stated and then is contradicted by other Jack. When you have a coherent, single position let me know-but if it is still based upon some stuff reported from elsewhere then I have the wise words of a Jack to quote, that what is reported to happen regarding energy supply in USA is not relevant to UK.
Methane hot spots, Jack? Well goodness me, I would have to avoid those paddy fields-but as has been detailed by someone called Jack they also could be irrelevant to the UK! I do remember a nice lunch next to a paddy field in Thailand, Jack, and I am still not suffering the consequences. Must have been “green” methane!!! LOL. I also can provide a “link” to a source of great dollops of methane production from…….DoD! That turned out to be a trickle. You really have very little awareness of what you stumble into, do you?
Worried about the climate in UK? No, I am not. It is January and it is cold-shock/horror. Last year was wet in parts, so little shortage of water supply, grape harvest was a record. A few short warm spells in the summer, but not as hot as in the previous one. What I would call a normal year Jack-in the true sense of the word. ’76 was a scorcher and ’47 was a really cold winter, then the next one I believe was around ’63. Lived through it all Jack, not too worried about it at the time or since. Have even experienced the odd hurricane that the “scientists” were unable to forecast 24hrs previously! Heard a lot about storms “battering” the UK recently, but oddly the storms that “battered” UK years ago that used to regularly create carnage with overturned lorries on motorways seem to have been “re-educated” to stop doing so. Understand poor old William was moaning about the climate when he was unable to invade England.
What I worry about Jack is that it is January and cold and my energy costs are so much higher than in other parts of the world where it is cold in January. Well, worry is too strong a word, as I have less need to worry when the UK producers of oil and gas are shielding me from the worst of it via their taxation upon local production. It doesn’t worry me at all that someone wants to prevent that, as in their own previous words they have whinged no-one takes any notice of them.
I may be a bit worried my heat pump was not finding as much heat in the outside air today to redirect inside, but then I expected that and turned on the gas, thinking 75% of a lot more would be……..a lot more. Cold wind today, but wind. Hmmm, wait for the high pressure to arrive, then “we” will have to ask those nice French people to “gift us” another of their nuclear power stations-although “strangely” I note there is news today they may put a new coat of paint on the old ones they supplied to us years ago and say-“bon chance, should do the trick but please pay the bill before the paint flakes”!
MARTIN ,
What’s that load of Collywaffle about ??????
Reams and reams of fantasy and OPINIONS backed up with your usual trade mark , NOTHING
Remember old chap / old lady whoever you really are , when you quote anything I’ve supposed to of said , please back it up with evidence..
[Edited by moderator] I feel comfortable saying that there’s more chance of JACK flying through the sky with Frosty the Snowman than there is of YOU providing evidence to back up your comments .
As far as your concern for your January heating bill goes , JACK can assure you that no energy company is going to step up to help you on that one … Didn’t you know , Fracking companies are NOT charities ?????
Whilst I have your attention, what are your thoughts on this ????
https://news.yale.edu/2016/01/06/toxins-found-fracking-fluids-and-wastewater-study-shows
Or this,
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/011915/what-are-effects-fracking-environment.asp
Or this,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2017/02/23/fracking-is-dangerous-to-your-health-heres-why/
[Edited by moderator]
Jack you may be unaware of the Windfall Tax upon UK energy production and where that has been going, but then you are unaware of what goes on in the UK. [Edited by moderator]
I did pay an extra payment into my UK energy account only yesterday, Jack. It had been plonked into my bank account before Christmas. I know where it came from, Jack. You can’t be bothered to research the UK reality, but that is the same for the reality over the horizon. That is your choice but it doesn’t do anything for your credibility, so don’t whinge when others have switched off.
Kathryn my review of geothermal shows that there’s a lot of interest worldwide in proving the concept and then trying to demonstrate scalability to industrial size.. I’ve been following a few projects for the last few years with mixed results. A couple of projects I was watching failed due to the high cost of drilling the well versus the alternatives , which were burning timber or composting waste. Closed loop, the most environmentally friendly appears to be ideally suited to domestic/ district heating. There’s an interesting TED talk which seems to suggest that it might be scaleable in the future though.
The TED talk mentions a US based company Sage Geosystems
Personally I like the idea of reusing abandoned wells/ mines for geothermal energy/ heating but suspect the high power density of nuclear fuel makes it the best option for a civilised future.
Well, Kathryn, when geothermal drilling was conducted in Cornwall it involved fracking AND seismic activity. However, I am not a geologist but it seems geothermal is deemed green and renewable therefore all is well (oops.) Third Energy of old deemed bad is now suggested to be good after suggesting they will join the geothermal club. Time will tell, but I would be a bit surprised if tea was a good use for the heat. Tea can be produced without, in parts of the UK but like nurses, oil and gas the UK seems to prefer getting supplies from over the horizon. If UK tea production was desired then a little bit of GM would extend it’s range across UK quite well, and provide lots with something more to protest about. However, with projects such as the one (GNR) to cover 7000 acres of productive agricultural land in Nottinghamshire with solar panels not sure where the land to provide for tea AND toast will be found. Not sure that the UK has too many who would wish to be tea pickers, either.
Geothermal energy has been utilized in Southampton for many years, with the site being slap bang in the middle of the shopping centre and no problems reported. In Germany there has been serious subsidence.
A 2.5 Richter Scale tremor was reported this week around Buxton in Derbyshire. Should there be extraction of spring water? Or, should “we” just accept that energy is required and if you stick fingers in a socket you are likely to die?
Do keep warm, high pressure starting to build in UK over coming days and hospitals already struggling. There are record low temperatures in Scandinavia as I post. Must be that time of the year the “clocks” change from Global Warming to Climate Change. 1947 winter was pretty extreme, then there was one in 63(?), so about due for the next one.
Our energy security means nothing in the hands of these companies who will sell to the highest bidder. WSCC has learned nothing from UKOG’s ability to carry out restorative work, as in theMarkwells Wood fiasco. I miss Jono.
Well Paula C you may start your own co-operative and donate discounted energy where you wish. Unfortunately, the bulk of UK energy is a case of the highest bidder prevails. Ironically, the highest bidder does not prevail when the customer has lots of choice. “Oddly”, you have a written record of wishing to prevent that. Goodness, I have seen some New Year resolution U turns but this is not one I expected.
I think you will find those nice people from over the horizon, known as OPEC, have a pretty good record of manufacturing the highest bidder by restricting supply to get the bidder as high as they would like. Worked very well, until-again ironically-their largest customer said sod this, we will really get fracking and reduce that highest bidder from controlling our economy. Some very strange bedfellows within this market, but ever thus.
Last time I noted a DoD article about this site it included poetic mention of buzzards and butterflies flying around and that was during active exploration, so I am a little bemused as to what rapid restoration would bring. Peregrine falcons quite like a bit of building to nest upon, and the Newbury bypass returned Red Kites to much of Southern England. I did come across pythons being used to control rodents in some factories in some countries, so who knows where it could end.