Celtique Energie Ltd. of the UK has said it is planning to submit applications for permission to explore for unconventional oil in Weald basin near the village of Fernhurst in West Sussex. Weald basin also has potential in conventional formations.
Outlining its plans in a recent company presentation, Celtique Energie said it tentatively plans to drill a Weald basin well next year. An application is being made to the South Downs National Park Authority to construct a temporary well site.
Celtique Energie’s partner is Magellan Petroleum (UK) Ltd., a unit of Magellan Petroleum Corp. of Denver (OGJ Online, May 28, 2013).
Some researchers have said Weald basin is geologically similar to France’s Paris basin.
In the UK, two basins are believed to hold 700 million bbl of technically recoverable shale oil resources, said Advanced Resources International Inc. in a paper prepared for the US Energy Information Administration. The estimate came in a June document entitled “World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment.”
