Further to our RNS of 3 March 2023, Counsels representing UK Oil & Gas plc (AIM: UKOG) and the Secretary of State will today defend a further High Court hearing brought about by opponents of the Company’s conventional blue hydrogen feedstock project at Loxley in Surrey.
UKOG, together with Secretary of State Suella Braverman, will defend against objections to their proposal to transform the Loxley gas find in Surrey into a blue hydrogen storage location once the well is exhausted.
UKOG stated emphatically, “We and our legal representatives continue to firmly believe that the Secretary of State’s approval of the Loxley project’s planning consent was completely lawful.
UKOG, an AIM-listed company, had earlier projected that the gas from Loxley could be worth as much as £124 million, with the facility providing storage for over 31 billion cubic feet of hydrogen, which is approximately a tenth of the National Grid’s expected need by 2035.
The Secretary of State’s decision to grant UKOG planning permission for the Loxley deposit survived a High Court challenge in October.
Despite the Surrey County Council initially rejecting the permission, the government overturned the decision in June of the previous year, supporting UKOG’s contention that the site could support the UK’s hydrogen strategy.
The Company and its counsel remain firmly of the opinion that the Secretary of State’s decision to grant planning consent for the Loxley project was entirely lawful.
A judgement is expected to be handed down later in the summer. Full planning and environmental consents remain in force.
