“Gatwick Gusher” firm UK Oil & Gas share price rises as it extends Isle of Wight exploration license
Shares in UK Oil & Gas (UKOG), the oil exploration company whose shares rocketed earlier this month after it suggested the amount of oil at its Horse Hill well near Gatwick was almost twice as much as previously thought, jumped 4.2 per cent to 2.37p as the market opened, after it was granted a year-long extension on its exploration licence off the Isle of Wight.
The company said its offshore Isle of Wight licence had been extended for a further year by the UK's Oil & Gas Authority.
"The extension provides the company with the necessary time to finalise drilling plans, and obtain regulatory permissions," it added.
UKOG hit headlines in recent months after it said it had discovered 100bn barrels of oil at the Weald Basin, nicknamed the "Gatwick Gusher". However, it later issued two clarifications on the figure.
But earlier this month shares shot up as much as 52 per cent after it published a report suggesting there were 271.4m barrels of oil per square mile at its Horse Hill well, much higher than the 158m originally estimated.
Last week it raised £6m through share sales, which it said it would use to further its interest in the Horse Hill licence are and other interests in the Weald Basin.