energy B has announced an agreement that would give it total control of the suspended Horse Hill oil site in Surrey.
In a stock market statement this morning, the company said it had agreed to buy the remaining stakes in Horse Hill, held by Arkadian Strategic Metals plc and Azzuro Resources.
The deals will cost a total of £167,748, energy B said.
In June 2026, energy B agreed to buy the majority interest in the site, near Gatwick Airport, then held by UK Oil & Gas plc (UKOG).
Today’s announcement would give energy B full ownership of the operator, Horse Hill Developments Limited (HHDL), the company said.
All three deals must be approved by the industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA).
Energy B said formal application for the change of control was made to the NSTA on 30 September 2026.
DrillOrDrop recently asked NSTA whether the deal with UK Oil & Gas had been approved. The regulator said it could not comment on individual cases.
Production halted
Oil production at Horse Hill has been suspended since October 2024. This followed the landmark Finch ruling by the Supreme Court, which quashed planning permission at the site.
The court ruled that the consent had been granted unlawfully in 2019. The decision-maker, Surrey County Council, had failed to assess the greenhouse gas emissions from using Horse Hill oil, known as downstream or scope 3 emissions.
HHDL submitted a new planning application in May 2026 for further drilling and long-term oil production at Horse Hill.
The application has been widely criticised by environmental campaigners, particularly over the assessment of scope 3 emissions. (Details here and here.)
Surrey County Council suggested today that a decision on the Horse Hill plans would not be made in 2026. A spokesperson said the date of the deciding planning committee meeting had not been confirmed but January 2027 was “currently looking the most likely”. More details
Neil Ritson, chief executive of energy B, said today:
“These minority interest buyout agreements are important to us as they will give us day to day control of the Gatwick energy site going forward. This will allow us to streamline our approach to the future field development and in dealing with the UK Government and regulators.
“We hope to restart production at the site early 2027 but timing depends on the discussions that are ongoing with the Surrey Country Council and the field’s planning amendments that are currently before them.”
Fundraising
energy B also said it had received firm commitments to raise £100,000 in share issues.
These include a £50,000 conditional subscription from the company’s chair, David Lenigas.
He said today:
“Consolidating our ownership of the Gatwick energy site into one single entity under energy B paves the way to reopen the site and supply British oil and gas to the British market.
“Historically, all of the oil from Gatwick has gone to the Fawley refinery near Southampton. It is the largest refinery in the UK, and it supplies about a fifth of the nation’s refinery capacity.
“Around 85% of its products travel to five distribution terminals plus, Heathrow, Gatwick and Birmingham airports. The oil from HH-1 also goes into the mix for Fawley’s dedicated jet fuel pipelines to the major airports.
“The Gatwick energy site can again be a home-grown contributor to Britain’s energy security.”
