{"id":130394,"title":"Union Jack Oil pulls plug on Biscathorpe after planning appeal withdrawn","publisher":"Share Talk","author":"sharetalk","published":"2025-12-15T12:55:12+00:00","modified":"2025-12-15T12:55:12+00:00","canonical_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/union-jack-oil-pulls-plug-on-biscathorpe-after-planning-appeal-withdrawn/","markdown_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/union-jack-oil-pulls-plug-on-biscathorpe-after-planning-appeal-withdrawn.md","json_url":"https://www.share-talk.com/union-jack-oil-pulls-plug-on-biscathorpe-after-planning-appeal-withdrawn.json","category":"Energy","categories":["Energy"],"tags":["3D seismic data","Biscathorpe","Biscathorpe-2","Broughton","David Bramhill","development","EDR","Egdon Resources","Egdon Resources U.K","EOG","Europa Oil & Gas","Fiskerton Airfield","gas","Graham Bull","Humber Basin","Humber Oil & Gas Limited","HYDROCARBON","Keddington","Lincolnshire","oil","onshore hydrocarbon","PEDL253 licence","production","side-track","South Humber Basin","UJO","Union Jack Oil","Union Jack Oil plc","Weald Basin","West Newton","West Newton A-2","Wressle","Wressle-1"],"featured_image":"https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/UJO-19-DEC-23.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1","format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":"[Union Jack Oil plc (AIM: UJO, OTCQB: UJOGF)](https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/union-jack-oil--ujo/biscathorpe-planning-update-pedl253/9297497) has confirmed that the PEDL253 joint venture has decided to withdraw its planning appeal relating to the proposed sidetrack drilling and oilfield development at the Biscathorpe site.\n\nThe appeal had been due to be heard at a public inquiry in April 2026. Following the withdrawal, the joint venture will meet its regulatory obligations and relinquish the licence in due course. Union Jack holds a 45% non-operated interest in PEDL253.\n\nThe licence operator, Egdon Resources UK Limited, had originally secured planning permission in December 2023 to appraise and produce hydrocarbons at Biscathorpe. However, this consent was overturned in July 2024 after a High Court ruling linked to the Finch decision. Egdon subsequently sought a redetermination by the Planning Inspectorate via written representations and submitted additional environmental material, including an assessment of downstream greenhouse gas emissions.\n\nDuring 2025, further documentation was provided at the request of the Planning Inspectorate, including updated case statements and a climate change assessment. In October, a newly appointed Planning Inspector ruled that the appeal should proceed as a four-to-six-day public inquiry rather than through written submissions.\n\nAfter reviewing the project’s commercial viability, the current UK tax environment, and the ongoing legal uncertainty surrounding oil and gas developments following the Finch ruling, the joint venture concluded that continued investment in Biscathorpe could no longer be justified. This decision was reinforced by stronger statutory protections introduced in late 2024 for National Landscapes, formerly known as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.\n\n**David Bramhill, Executive Chairman of Union Jack Oil, commented****:** “With a backdrop of a changing macro-economic environment, along with the continued regulatory uncertainty in relation to how downstream emissions will be considered, we have concluded that this is the correct decision for the Company’s wider objectives, which includes the future development of Wressle and the planned drilling programme in Oklahoma.\n\n“A comprehensive review of all of Union Jack’s projects in the UK and USA will be issued in January 2026.”"}