Oil exploration drilling bid for Isle of Wight

An application has been submitted to drill for oil on the Isle of Wight.

UK Oil and Gas Investments (UKOG) wants to drill an exploration borehole at Arreton, south east of Newport.

UKOG chief executive Stephen Sanderson previously said the drilling would benefit the local economy and pledged to give a percentage of profits to the island if drilling went ahead.

The island's Green Party parliamentary candidate, Vix Lowthion, said she was "alarmed" by the planning application.

In a Facebook post, she wrote: "The news we didn't want has been confirmed. We will be fighting this all the way."

A five-week public consultation on the planning application to Isle of Wight Council will be delayed as a result of coronavirus restrictions.

UKOG owns a 95% interest in a development licence for the "Arreton-3" site close to the New Barn Business Park on the A3056, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The company said it would not be the site of fracking.

UKOG had originally planned to drill offshore in its search for reserves but scrapped the plans in 2018 in favour of onshore exploration at Arreton.

An independent report published in 2016 suggested there were 15.7 million barrels of recoverable oil in the area.