Sir Jeremy Hunt, the former chancellor, has welcomed news that an oil and gas company has surrendered its exploration rights in his Surrey constituency.

DrillOrDrop discovered this week that the exploration licence covering a controversial gas site at Loxley, near the village of Dunsfold, had been relinquished.

Sir Jeremy described the Dunsfold scheme, opposed for six years by many local people, as “ridiculous”.

The licence, called PEDL234, included another exploration site at Broadford Bridge, near Billingshurst, in West Sussex, also the subject of fierce local opposition.

The news has also been welcomed by a local authority and the campaign organisations, Protect Dunsfold and the Weald Action Group.

Sir Jeremy said:

“This is wonderful news and totally the right decision.

“Drilling in the beautiful village of Dunsfold was always a ridiculous idea and would have ruined the area.

“I must commend the Protect Dunsfold team for their resilience and hard work in campaigning against this prospective, exploration site – I’m delighted!”

Setbacks

PEDL234 was operated by UKOG (234) Ltd, a subsidiary of UK Oil & Gas plc.

The company has carried out no construction or drilling work at the Loxley/Dunsfold site. A well was drilled at Broadford Bridge but the site has been mothballed for seven years.

By relinquishing the licence, UKOG (234) Ltd has lost the right to explore or produce hydrocarbons in the area.

DrillOrDrop asked the parent company about the relinquishment but has received no response.

The licence loss has been among a series of recent setbacks for the UKOG group. Others include:

• In June 2024, the flagship oil production site at Horse Hill lost its planning permission following a landmark climate ruling at the Supreme Court
• In March 2025, UKOG suspended share trading when its annual accounts were not published on time
• In April 2025, we reported council action over restoration delays at Broadford Bridge
• UKOG’s interim accounts were delayed this week
• Today, UKOG announced that it was selling a subsidiary, UKOG GB Ltd, for £400,000

“Delighted but vigilant” – more Dunsfold reaction

Protect Dunsfold Ltd said today it was delighted that the licence had been relinquished but said it remained vigilant.

In a statement, it said:

“PD [Protect Dunsfold] and fellow campaigners have been working ceaselessly since 2019 to protect the local environment and community assets from UKOG’s totally inappropriate and unsuitable proposal.  

“Dunsfold is currently expecting inclusion into the enlarged Surrey Hills National Landscape (formerly known as an AONB). Such exploratory drilling would have irreparably damaged both the natural environment and neighbouring local businesses, as well as causing significant stress to local roads, with heavy vehicles navigating an incredibly narrow access lane on a blind bend.

“While we always felt that the potential at this site was overestimated by UKOG, and therefore likely to founder, we simply could not take that risk and so a huge amount of effort has been devoted to campaigning against this project.

“We are very grateful to everybody who has supported us; whilst undoubtedly there are other factors at play, this is a victory for common sense and stands as a testament to community cooperation and resilience.

“Hopefully the relinquishment of this drilling licence effectively marks the end of a long running saga, but as the planning consent for this site does not expire until June 2026 we remain vigilant and will persist in protecting the local environment should the need arise again.”

Surrey County Council confirmed today the Loxley/Dunsfold planning permission continued to be valid, whether or not there was a PEDL licence.

Planning permission for the Dunsfold scheme was originally rejected twice by Surrey County Council, in June and November 2020.  But the refusal was overturned on appeal by the then local government minister, Stuart Andrew. In 2023, Protect Dunsfold and Waverley Borough Council failed in their legal challenge at the High Court.

Cllr Steve Williams, portfolio holder for environment and sustainability for Waverley Borough Council, was part of the challenge. He said today:

“For years, Waverley Borough Council has stood alongside local campaigners and environmental pressure groups against proposals by UK Oil and Gas (UKOG) to devastate the rural heart of our borough by drilling for fossil fuels.

“As Waverley’s portfolio holder for Environment and Sustainability I have worked alongside community groups and supported the council’s legal case against the drilling, alongside Paul Follows, our council leader.

“Throughout the years of campaigning against drilling for fossil fuels in Dunsfold, I have consistently spoken out against UKOG’s outrageous proposals, despite facing the personal threat of legal action from UKOG itself at one stage.

“This campaign has been long, difficult, and sometimes intimidating — but justice and common sense have at last prevailed. We must all continue to press the message that if we are ever to stand any chance of stopping the worst of our impending climate crisis, all new deposits of fossil fuels must stay in the ground.”

Kirsty Clough, of the Weald Action Group, said:

“We were heartened to hear that UKOG has finally thrown in the towel and given up its licence to carry out fossil fuel drilling near the village of Dunsfold. We are proud to have stood alongside local campaign group Protect Dunsfold who have worked tirelessly for over 5 years to stop this development. From the start it was clear that the scheme would have been bad news for the local wildlife and for the climate, and bad news for local businesses”

Broadford Bridge – “future unclear”

Opponents of operations at Broadford Bridge have also welcomed the end of PEDL234.

Local campaign groups have opposed the site at Wood Barn Farm for more than 12 years.

The well, which never officially produced oil, has been mothballed since March 2018.

The site lost its planning permission more than a year ago when West Sussex County Council refused to allow more time. But the well has not been plugged and abandoned. Nor has the site been restored to farmland.

Ann Stewart, of the Weald Action Group, said today:

“It is unclear what the surrendering of this licence means for UKOG’s mothballed oil site at Broadford Bridge.

“In March 2024 they were refused permission by West Sussex County Council to extend their planning permission at this site and required to restore it within six months. This has not happened. We have regularly contacted the Planning Officer at the council to ask about any progress and been told that they “are in dialogue with the operator”. In this time UKOG’s shares have also been suspended. UKOG cannot simply be allowed to walk away from their responsibilities. The Council must use all its powers to hold them to account”.

Opponents of UK onshore oil and gas operations have regularly raised concerns about who would pay for site decommissioning and restoration if an operator went out of business.

There are frequent calls on mineral planning authorities to require a bond to pay for the work, as a condition of planning permission.

Dr Jill Sutcliffe, a co-founder of Weald Action Group and chair of Keep Kirdford and Wisborough Green, said:

“All I can say is ‘about time’ and West Sussex County Council will be kicking themselves that they turned down the proposal made repeatedly by the objectors to set up a bond.”

In April 2025, council officials issued planning contravention notices against UKOG (234) Ltd and the landowner when deadlines were missed to decommission the well and restore the site.

West Sussex County Council told us today it served two breach of condition notices on 6 May 2025. These require the operator to plug and abandon the well, remove all equipment and structures and restore the site, all by 6 February 2026.

We asked West Sussex County Council about the implications of the relinquishment on site restoration at Broadford Bridge. A spokesperson said:

“West Sussex County Council is currently investigating the status of the Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence (PEDL). The council understands from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) that the operator has been granted an extension until 31 March 2026 to plug and abandon the well. It is important to note that the planning system operates independently of the licensing regime managed by the NSTA.”

The spokesperson added:  

“The planning system and the licensing regime are separate. The absence of a PEDL does not automatically prevent activity under planning controls.”

Uncovering the lost licence

DrillOrDrop uncovered the relinquished licence when we followed up a missed deadline on work in PEDL234.

The industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), had given UKOG until 30 June 2025 to start drilling a well at the Loxley/Dunsfold site. This was the third time the NSTA had extended the deadline.

Drilling the well had been a condition for UKOG to retain the full 300km2 of PEDL234.

As no construction work had been carried out on the site, we checked whether PEDL234 was on a list of current licences, published by NSTA.

The licence was missing.

Protect Dunsfold then spotted that PEDL234 was on another official NSTA list of licences that have been relinquished.

We asked NSTA about the relinquishment. It said it did not comment on individual licences.

At the time of writing, UKOG has made no announcement about the relinquishment to the stock market or UKOG shareholders.