Horse Hill partner slashes value of investment By Ruth Hayhurst on May 6, 20256 May 2025 11:22
Alba Mineral Resources has cut by 94% the value of its stake in Horse Hill – the Surrey oil site at the centre of last year’s landmark Supreme Court judgement.
Horse Hill oil site, near Horley, in Surrey.
Satellite image source: Google Maps, downloaded on 7/2/25
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.1779039,-0.2097219,135m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDIwNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
The company, which holds 18.1% of Horse Hill, announced in annual accounts “a significant impairment” of the value of its investment from £2,497,000 to £150,000.
The accounts said:
“Although there is no doubt that there is significant oil-in-place and value to be extracted, given the current uncertainties and in the absence of further news management has determined that impairment is the prudent course of action.”
The Supreme Court quashed Horse Hill’s planning permission in June 2024.
Justices ruled that Surrey County Council acted unlawfully when it granted consent for new wells and and long-term oil production at Horse Hill. The court said the council failed to take into account greenhouse emissions from burning oil extracted from the site.
Since then, the Horse Hill operator, a subsidiary of UK Oil & gas plc (UKOG), has not submitted a new planning application. There has been no production since November 2024 and the county council has said it is in discussions with the company over clearing the site.
In March 2025, UKOG suspended share trading because its annual accounts would not be published on time.
Alba’s accounts said:
“The Directors believe that the intrinsic value of the oil field has not been diminished during the year. However, due to the combined circumstances of the suspension of production at the site caused by an adverse Court decision requiring planning applications to be recast and resubmitted and delays to reporting by the majority owner, the Directors believe it is prudent to impair the value of the investment.
“The significant quantities of oil-in-place may still lead to further positive cashflows in the future and the value of the investment will continue to be reviewed annually.”
Alba said the value of its investment after impairment was based on estimated future cashflow from oil extracted from the one production well at Horse Hill (HH-1), “assuming reinstatement of planning permission in 2026”.
The accounts added:
“The significant quantities of oil-in-place may still lead to further positive cashflows in the future and the value of the investment will continue to be reviewed annually.
“In the event of approval of a revised planning application and production recommencing, some of this impairment could be reversed in future years.”
Alba declared a group loss after tax of £3.523m for the year ending November 2024. The loss was mainly because of the Horse Hill impairment expense, the company said.
Alba said it had received £103,000 from the Horse Hill oper
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