David Bramhill Executive Chairman-Union Jack Oil PLC (AIM:UJO)

With Union Jack Oil PLC Submission of New Wressle Planning Application, we ask David Bramhill to update shareholders and he explains the back groundwork that has gone on to able to submit the planning application.

Commenting, David Bramhill, Executive Chairman of Union Jack, said:

"The operator has today submitted a comprehensive planning application on behalf of the joint venture partners for the development of the Wressle oil field.

Wressle is material to Union Jack and the economic impact of establishing commercial oil production will be transformative for our Company.

Considerable work has been carried out to address all the issues identified previously. As part of our ongoing belief in the development of Wressle, Union Jack reaffirmed its support in June 2018 by acquiring a further 12.5% interest, increasing our interest to 27.5%*.

Union Jack also fully supports the operator's proposal in respect of a community liaison group and a community fund to ensure the local community are kept fully informed and share in the benefits of the Wressle development.

Extract of the announcement made today by Egdon Resources Plc

Egdon Resources plc (AIM:EDR) is pleased to announce the submission to North Lincolnshire Council (NLC) of a new planning application (the Application) for the development of the Wressle oil field, which the Company believes comprehensively addresses the reasons for the refusal of the original planning applications and the subsequent appeals.

The Application is supported by a detailed planning and sustainability statement, a suite of technical drawings showing construction and layout details and updated and new technical assessments.

The Company believes that the Application takes full account of the key findings of the Planning Inspector's decision to dismiss the Company's appeals as set out in his decision letter of 4 January 2018, which identified three key issues in his decision:

1. The absence of a ground conditions survey report;

2. The absence of sufficient evidence on the adequacy of the Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL) covering; and

3. Uncertainty with regards to the near-surface geology and specifically the presence of capping layers to the underlying aquifers.

The first issue has been addressed by the production of an independent Ground Investigation Report which evaluates and confirms the underlying ground condition at the well site using information gained from geotechnical site investigation boreholes drilled in Q1 2018.

The second issue has been addressed through the proposed reconfiguration of the well site to install a new high-density polyethylene (HDPE) impermeable membrane above the existing GCL, with additional associated protection layers across the entire well site. The specification of the HDPE impermeable membrane, associated protection layers and thickness and suitability of the stone covering layer, has been informed by the Ground Investigation Report, tested and validated in a laboratory, and agreed between the membrane manufacturer and Egdon's consulting civil and structural engineers.

The third issue has been addressed through an updated independent Hydrogeological and Flood Risk Assessment (HRA), which includes the results of samples tested from two deeper cored boreholes drilled in Q1 2018. The HRA confirms the detail of the near-surface geology and conclusively demonstrates the presence of laterally continuous capping layers to the underlying aquifers.

Once validated by North Lincolnshire Council, the Application will be reviewed by the Planning Officers at NLC, considered by statutory consultees and will be open for comment from interested parties. The period of consultation should be 13 weeks for an application of this nature.

Mark Abbott, Managing Director of Egdon Resources plc, said:

"The submission of this new planning application is the culmination of a significant amount of detailed and thorough work by our team of specialist consultants and advisers. The new proposed development has been informed by information from the site investigation and deeper cored boreholes drilled during the first quarter of 2018 and has been designed to comprehensively address the key concerns which resulted in the Inspector's dismissal of our planning appeals.

The proposed development incorporates high levels of embedded mitigation, such as the new HDPE impermeable membrane system, to minimise the potential for any environmental or other impacts from our operations. The effectiveness of this mitigation will be verified by continuous monitoring of the nearby water and groundwater.

We plan to set up a community liaison group and a community fund to ensure the local community are kept fully informed and share in the benefits of the Wressle development.

We hope that North Lincolnshire Council will recognise the positive changes made to the proposed development when determining this planning application and we remain available to address any remaining questions or concerns which may arise during the consultation and determination process."