New documents reveal that Angus Energy continues to potentially mislead its investors after informing them in May that it has all the necessary planning permissions to drill a controversial side-track well at its Brockham oil site in Surrey.
The documents, obtained via freedom of information rules, reveal that local planning authority Surrey County Council told Angus categorically in March that it had breached its planning permissions by drilling the well.
Indeed, the battle between Angus Energy and Surrey County Council over the issue shows no sign of abating.
Earlier this year, Spinwatch reported that a concerned local resident had asked the London Stock Exchange to investigate whether Angus had ‘potentially misled’ investors over whether it had permission to drill a side-track well. Angus was adamant it had not, issuing robust public statements in its defence on its company website.
Now Angus has once again informed shareholders that all is fine with its well. Last month via the Regulatory News Service it wrote that it was ‘pleased to announce that following consultation with the UK's Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) it has submitted the required Field Development Plan (FDP) Addendum to commence production from the Kimmeridge layers at its Brockham Oil Field’.
The company added that, ’the approval from the OGA is the sole regulatory approval required to produce hydrocarbons from the Kimmeridge layers in addition to the existing Portland production'.
Angus said it could be sure it had the necessary permissions because it had ‘taken the precaution of obtaining additional legal review from Queen's Counsel’, who argued that the sidetrack well had planning permission ‘until 2036’.
The note to the Stock Exchange added: ‘The Brockham site had the benefit of existing planning permissions granted by Surrey County Council (SCC) and the required approvals from the EA, HSE and OGA for the maintenance work, re-entry and/or planned sidetrack.’
It added that the company determined that the side-track, known as BR-X4, ‘was fully permitted within the Company's regulatory approvals from the relevant authorities'.
‘Confusion’
Paul Vonk, Angus Energy's managing director commented in the news release that there had been confusion over whether the company had the necessary permissions due to numerous different wells, however ‘Angus drilled the Brockham-X4Z well in a fully authorised manner under the planning permissions already granted and in existence and with full approvals necessary by the relevant governing authorities'.
Yet again this is at odds with documents from Surrey County Council (SCC), the local planning authority.
Minutes of a March 2017 meeting between Angus Energy and SCC obtained via FOI reveal that the council is adamant that the company does not have permission to drill the side-track well and that it had told Angus so in that meeting – repeating its previous advice from December 2016.
Indeed, the council highlights the point that the BRX4 well-head ‘came after’ the relevant planning permission, which does stretch until 2036.
The meeting notes show that Alan Stones, the council planning development team manager categorically stated time and again that Angus did not have planning permission:
• ‘There is now a side-track where there is no permission for drilling or production’.
• ‘The side track relates to BRX4 and therefore needs to be a fresh planning application and permission dealing with the sidetrack and production from it’.
• ‘The CPA considers there is no permission to allow for production from BRX4’.
• the ‘side-track is significant’ and ‘it needs a separate planning permission’.
Towards the end of the meeting Stones stated: ‘we need you to give an unequivocal agreement not to do anything without the relevant permission. Angus has blotted its copy book and there will be great public concern.’
The council added that one way the situation could be resolved was for the company to apply for retrospective planning permission. However, there was a 'high degree' of public interest in the matter, the notes record.
Local concern
These new revelations will further increase anxiety about the company’s actions locally.
One local resident said: ‘This is one of the first of many planned wells to be drilled in the Weald and already they are cutting corners. Angus had every opportunity to sort out any misunderstanding in January when Surrey County Council contacted them first but they denied drilling anything. Why would they do that if they thought they had permission?”
Despite three requests from Spinwatch for comment, Angus Energy did not reply.
Meanwhile, Friends of the Earth have revealed that under plans unveiled by the Conservatives in their manifesto, 199 constituencies across the UK - including 24 in the south east – could face the threat of drilling for shale gas and oil without planning permission.
The Tory manifesto promises to let fracking firms with exploration licences carry out test drills for shale fossil fuels without any need for local permission.
‘We are extremely concerned that the final decision on proposals for full-scale fracking could be taken away from local councillors,’ said Friends of the Earth spokesperson Naomi Luhde-Thompson. ‘This is hugely undemocratic, marginalises the views of local people, and goes against the Tories own localism agenda.’
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