UK’s shale oil reserves could triple, says BGS
The British Geological Survey said the commercial amount was unknown
The UK’s Weald basin could hold almost 9 billion barrels of shale oil, according to British Geological Survey (BGS) data, which, if proved up, has the potential to triple the country’s crude reserves. A new BGS report, released on 23 May, said the Weald basin, in southeast England, could hold between 2.2bn barrels and 8.57bn barrels of shale oil, pegging the resource’s central estimate at 4.4bn barrels. The study, The Jurassic shales of the Weald Basin: geology and shale oil and shale gas resource estimation, was commissioned by the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The area studied covers 10,825 square km, extending from Salisbury, in Wiltshire, western England, to the Ke

Also in this section
10 July 2025
Without sanctions relief, there is little reason to believe the latest potential attempt at exports from the Russian liquefaction project will be more successful than the one last summer
9 July 2025
Efforts to restructure and boost investment appear to be working, but doubts remain about the plan to almost double crude production by 2030
7 July 2025
The end of Grangemouth and Lindsey oil refineries marks a worrying trend across Europe amid cost and transition pressures
3 July 2025
The July/August 2025 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!