Union Jack Oil plc and its partners have withdrawn their appeal against refusal of planning permission to drill a side-track and develop the Biscathorpe oil field in the Lincolnshire Wolds.
INQUIRY
The JV is expected to relinquish PEDL253 “in due course”, some ten years after operator Egdon Resources UK Ltd acquired the licence.
Union Jack today said that the “commercial aspects, prevailing tax regime and the continued lack of clear case law in respect of oil and gas projects in the UK”, following the 2024 Supreme Court ruling, meant that the JV could “no longer justify” investing more money in the project.
“This collective decision was augmented by a strengthened legislative duty applying to National Landscapes (formerly AONBs) introduced in late 2024,” added the company.
Egdon’s December 2023 planning approval for appraisal and production at Biscathorpe was quashed in 2024 in a High Court challenge.
The company had then asked that the Planning Inspectorate to redetermine the appeal by written representations, instead of an inquiry.
Egdon submitted an addendum to its environmental statements which assessed the expected downstream greenhouse gas emissions generated by the project.
During 2025, the operator also submitted supplementary information, including updated statements of case and common ground, and a climate change assessment.
In October, a newly appointed planning inspector decided that the appeal should be heard in an inquiry, over four to six days, scheduled for April 2026.
Union Jack executive chairman David Bramhill added that Union Jack would focus on developing the Wressle oil field joint venture near Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire, and its licences in Oklahoma, USA.
Biscathorpe licence holders comprise Union Jack with a 45% non-operated interest, Edgon owns 35.8% and Montrose Industries Ltd has 19.2%.