A new oil reserve discovered in U.K.

According to the UK exploration company, Oil & Gas Investments, a major oil reserv has been recently discoveres very close to Gatwick Airport in West Sussex. The discovery news caused both excitement as well as some sceptisism by industry experts with regards to the exloitability of the reserve, while environmentalists express their own concerns over the impact to the local ecosystem.

Based on the company's announcement, the high end technology and data interpretation systems revealed that the oil well could produce up to 158 million barrels of oil pre square mile. The company possesses licences over an area of 55 square miles of the Weald Basin, essentially over an area covering Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire. A simple calculation implies that the site could possibly give 8.6 billion barrels of oil, this being lower by 20% compared to the quantity of oil extracted in the North Sea over the last 40 years. 

Stephen Sanderson, the chief executive of UKOG further emphasized the need for appraisal drilling and well testing to conclude the well's commerciality, however, he appeared convinced that the area is capable of a considerable oil production. Many industry experts though, express their sceptisism over the sustainability of the well. According to Mike Jakeman, a global commodities analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, the currently low bargain price of oil means that only the cheapest oilwells are being exploited and cases such as Canada's oil sands and the Brazilian coast are not yet in the production line due to the high costs of oil extraction that are involved. The UK discovery falls within the particular category of too expensive investments. 

In addition, environmentalists have also expressed their opposition to the exploitation of the particular oil field stressing out the issue's environmental as well as political implications. 

For more information, watch the video below with the statement by UKOG's chairman and entrepreneur David Lenigas.