Decisions

Burniston, North Yorkshire: Planning and permit applications for drilling and lower-volume fracking for gas by Europa Oil & Gas near the North York Moors National Park. No confirmed dates for decisions.

Foxholes, North Yorkshire: Planning and permit applications for gas drilling by Egdon Resources at Foxholes, near the Wolds National Landscape. No confirmed dates for decisions.

Waddock Cross, Dorset: Ministerial decision on whether plans by Egdon Resources for three new boreholes and 10 years of oil production need an environmental impact assessment. Decision expected by 1 March 2026. Consideration of planning permission expected to follow.

Wressle, North Lincolnshire: Expansion of oil drilling and production at Egdon’s oil site near Scunthorpe. The proposal includes lower-volume fracking. No confirmed dates for planning decision.

New work

Balcombe, West Sussex: Flow test of Angus Energy’s oil well. No confirmed date for start of work.

West Newton, East Yorkshire: Lower-volume fracking to stimulate reservoir at Rathlin Energy’s site in Holderness. No confirmed date for start of work.

Clean-up

Broadford Bridge, West Sussex: Planners have taken enforcement action against a UK Oil & Gas plc subsidiary and the landowner over failure to restore this site near Billingshurst. West Sussex County Council had expected work to start this month on plugging and abandoning the wells but there is no evidence that it did.

Preston New Road, Lancashire: Cuadrilla required to restore its former shale gas fracking site near Blackpool to farmland after councillors refused an extension of planning permission. Groundwater monitoring required as part of the restoration process.

Applications

Horse Hill, Surrey: Resubmission of planning application for oil production and more wells at site operated by a UK Oil & Gas subsidiary. The planning permission was quashed in 2024 in a landmark climate ruling by the Supreme Court. New application data expected in early 2026, to be followed by public consultation.

Whisby, Lincolnshire: Submission of planning application, with an environmental statement,  for new sidetrack production well by BritNRG.

Licences

Biscathorpe: Egdon Resources is expected to relinquish its licence to explore and produce oil in the Lincolnshire Wolds. In December 2025, the company abandoned its challenge to the refusal of planning permission at Biscathorpe. The challenge had been due to be heard in April 2026 at a planning inquiry, now cancelled.

Policy and government

Fracking ban: The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has committed to ban fracking. There’s no detail on when this will happen or what will be included in the ban.

Fracking petition: The government has been asked by the Petitions Committee to revise its response to a petition, signed by more than 10,000 people opposing lower-volume fracking.

Legislation: The government is expected to deliver legislation to end new future onshore oil and gas licensing in England.

Revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF): A public consultation on revisions to the NPPF closes on 10 March 2026. A key change is the removal of a requirement to decisionmakers to give “great weight” to the benefits of onshore oil and gas.

Who drilled where in 2025? Find out tomorrow how many onshore oil and gas wells were drilled in the UK in the past 12 months.