Nick Stuart, the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Isle of Wight Council Central Wight Ward, tells OnTheWight that he’s been looking into issues surrounding offshore drilling on the south of the Isle of Wight.
The offshore drilling licence for UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) was granted an extension in January last year and due to expire at the end of this month.
Licence surrendered
However, Nick says he’s discovered that, “UKOG had surrendered its offshore exploration license in mid-December”.
Nick’s already declared his opposition to local hydrocarbon extraction – with long-standing awareness and professional knowledge of green issues and technologies, Nick told OnTheWight he felt the other political parties on the Island were failing to pursue this issue systematically.
IW Offshore exploration not mentioned
Calling on his in-depth knowledge of government (he previously worked within the Department of Trade and Industry, and UK Trade and Investment), Nick researched UKOG and discovered the company had stated interests in various exploration licenses in a recent stock market announcement.
However, it appears that although the disclosure mentioned onshore exploration on the Isle of Wight, it failed to mention offshore exploration.
Focus is onshore exploration
Nick says his investigations showed the company was focusing its current efforts on onshore fields in other parts of southern England.
Given its current capital, Nick believes the company is unlikely to have enough money to pursue all of its possible exploration interests.
He said
“From my discussions with the company and the Government’s Oil and Gas Authority, I was able to establish that the UKOG had surrendered its offshore exploration license in mid December.”
Awaiting comment from UKOG
Nick said he’d asked UKOG to comment on their drilling proposals on and around the island and he is awaiting a reply. He’s promised to share any response with the Island public.
OnTheWight has spoken to the relevant Oil & Gas authority and is awaiting confirmation of the suspension of the offshore licence.
