The Broadford Bridge oil wells near Billinghurst in West Sussex have been abandoned, the parent company has announced.

UK Oil & Gas plc (UKOG) said in a statement yesterday it had:

“now successfully plugged and abandoned its Broadford Bridge-1/1z well.

“The operation, which commenced in late 2025 and finished on 4th February 2026, was carried out in full accordance with all pertinent regulatory requirements, agreed programmes and consents.”

The site has had no planning permission for nearly two years after West Sussex County Council refused an extension  in March 2024.

The site operator, UKOG (234) Ltd failed to meet its own deadline to restore the site over a year ago.

Council officials served planning contravention notices against UKOG (234) and the landowner in January 2025.

The site still needs to be returned to farmland under the terms of the previous planning permission.

UKOG’s statement added:

“West Sussex County Council, the governing local planning authority, were kept fully informed regarding the operation and its progress.”

Planning permission at Broadford Bridge had been extended four times, without any immediate prospect of oil production. The site had been mothballed since March 2018.

In February 2018, UKOG announced areas around the wellbore could have been damaged or blocked by debris.

In December 2017, UKOG revealed that a section of the Broadford Bridge reservoir was unproductive because of low permeability. In August 2017, evidence showed UKOG had drilled a mechanical sidetrack to avoid a section of the main wellbore (BB-1) that had been “washed out”.

In July 2025, we reported that UKOG (234) Ltd had surrendered the production and exploration licence PEDL234 covering Broadford Bridge and the Surrey proposed site of Loxley/Dunsfold.

The company said in a relinquishment report that oil flow rates at Broadford Bridge were considered “uneconomic”.