Reabold Resources has hit back at doubts over plans to frack at West Newton in East Yorkshire made by the partner it is seeking to acquire.

Earlier this month, Union Jack, which has a 16.665% stake in West Newton, said it had concerns over the “technical viability of the project” to recomplete the West Newton-A2 well (WNA-2), due to be carried out by the end of 2026.

Union Jack, which rejected Reabold’s takeover bid, also said it was concerned about the ability of the site operator, Rathlin Energy, to deliver “overall sustained commercial production”.

This morning, Reabold accused Union Jack of “speculative” and “unsupported” comments over West Newton. Official statement

“Undeveloped discovery”

In a circular to shareholders on 11 September 2026, Union Jack said:

“West Newton remains an undeveloped gas and condensate discovery that has yet to establish sustained commercial production.”

Two wells drilled in the West Newton field had “failed to establish sustained flow”, consistent with wellbore formation damage, Union Jack said.

It added that an initial review had concluded:

“The outcome of the proposed stimulation is not known.”

Union Jack also raised concerns about possible legal action over the Environment Agency’s variation of the West Newton permit. It said:

“The outcome of those proceedings (if any) is outside the control of either company, and an adverse outcome, or interim relief granted before or during operations, would immediately halt the planned work and capital expended to date could be at risk.”

“Misleading, selective and highly speculative”

This morning, Reabold said it “strongly rejects the suggestion that West Newton lacks strategic merit”.

It accused the Union Jack board of “highly selective views” on West Newton. It also said the Union Jack circular contained “a number of misleading, selective and highly speculative statements regarding Reabold, the offer and the West Newton project”.

Reabold, which has a near 80% stake in Rathlin Energy, said:

“The New Board seeks to characterise West Newton as a risk that Union Jack Shareholders should avoid.

“Reabold considers this position inconsistent with Union Jack’s longstanding investment in West Newton and the repeated statements made by the former Union Jack board regarding the significance of the project.

“West Newton remains one of the largest onshore conventional gas and condensate discoveries in the United Kingdom. Significant technical work has been undertaken to understand historic well performance and to design the forthcoming WNA-2 recompletion programme.”

Reabold described as “largely speculative” the new board’s comments on reservoir performance, permitting matters and future development activity.

It added:

“Importantly, the New Board provides no independent technical report to support its assertions regarding the project’s prospects.”

Reabold described the rejection of its offer by the new Union Jack board as “self-serving” and said it was “not in the best interests of Union Jack as a whole or for Union Jack shareholders”.

It said Union Jack may require additional funding to meet future commitments, including those at West Newton.

• The Takeover Panel has extended the deadline for the Reabold offer for Union Jack until 1pm on 2 October 2026.

Road closure

The first stage in the West Newton project is construction of passing places along the lorry route on Pasture Lane. The road is due to be closed from Wednesday 23 September to Monday 5 October 2026.