David Lenigas hails ‘fantabulous’ early test results at Gatwick oil well

But sceptics suggest longer-term testing is required before the sustainability of the well can be accurately assessed

UK Oil & Gas chairman Stephen Sanderson said that the Gatwick well was ‘the equivalent of the best-producing wells in the United States’ (AFP)

The company behind the so-called “Gatwick Gusher” has shrugged off scepticism about its oil discovery near London’s second airport, after “stellar” early testing results.

UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG), which is leading the hunt for oil in Sussex, said its first test well produced real oil in significant quantities on Monday.

David Lenigas, the flamboyant Australian entrepreneur behind the Horse Hill project, claimed last year that there were 100 billion barrels in the ground, only to be forced by regulators to clarify that only a small percentage could be retrieved.

Mr Lenigas, who stepped down as chairman of UKOG in December but remains the largest shareholder, claimed the results were “fantabulous” On his blog he criticised the “many doubters with their poisoned pens” for dismissing the oil find as “hype”.

The executive chairman Stephen Sanderson, who took over from Mr Lenigas, called the results “stellar”.

During the test, oil flowed naturally from around 900 metres below ground to the surface for more than seven hours at a rate of 463 barrels a day. Mr Sanderson said that was the equivalent of “one of the best-producing wells in the United States”.

However, sceptics suggested longer-term testing would be required before the sustainability of the well could be accurately assessed.

UKOG wants to build between a dozen and two dozen wells on the 4.5-acre Horse Hill site, allowing it to extract oil from the 55 square miles covered by its licence. Mr Sanderson claimed that this should have little environmental impact.

The Green Party leader Natalie Bennett visited the site, a mile north of the airport, on Friday and saw the dozen protesters there as well as visiting the drilling operations.

Mr Sanderson said the company now has to apply for new planning permission and permits from the Environment Agency, Health and Safety Executive and the Oil and Gas Authority. “We have been in dialogue with Number 10 [Downing Street] on how this process can be streamlined,” he said. “My view is that the Government needs to step in to facilitate this.”

Independent tests by international oil companies have estimated the amount of oil beneath the 55 acres of Horse Hill at between 11 billion and 15 billion barrels, but only around 5 per cent is likely to be suitable for commercial extraction.

Across the Weald Basin in southern England, there is an estimated 124 billion barrels of oil, almost three times the North Sea’s production.

Five of the six companies involved in the project were the top performers on the junior AIM market on Tuesday. UKOG, the largest shareholder with a 20 per cent stake, leapt 0.6p to 1.98p. Solo Oiljumped 0.04p to 0.31p, and Alba Mineral Resources flew up 0.13p to 0.4p.