Dorset oil field owners seek to extend licence

The oil field closed in 2014 after it was deemed not commercially viable

Owners of an oil field are seeking to keep it in place for a further 10 years so they can apply to expand it.

Waddock Cross oil field, near Affpuddle, Dorset, closed in 2014 but Egdon Resources is seeking to extend its licence which expires on Thursday.

The firm said it was planning a separate application to drill new boreholes for "appraisal and oil production".

Comments on the licence extension can be made to Dorset Council.

Planning for the two-hectare (five-acre) site was agreed in 2013 for 10 years, including time for restoration.

But, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, it closed in 2014 as it was deemed not commercially viable.

In its application, Egdon Resources said the separate borehole application would likely involve horizontal drilling to access reserves that could yield between 500 and 800 barrels a day.