WATCHING THE WORLD COME, FRIENDLY OILMEN, DRILL IN SLOUGH

Jan. 16, 1995
With David Knott from London Plans to drill a wildcat on the grounds of Windsor Castle, sometime residence of Britain's royal family, received final approval Jan. 4 after a 9-3 committee vote by the Berkshire County Council. Canuk Exploration Ltd. of nearby Gerard's Cross intends to spud the well in August. Drilling is expected to take less than 14 days, with the target reservoir at a depth of only 300-400 m (OGJ, Dec. 12, 1994, Newsletter).

Plans to drill a wildcat on the grounds of Windsor Castle, sometime residence of Britain's royal family, received final approval Jan. 4 after a 9-3 committee vote by the Berkshire County Council.

Canuk Exploration Ltd. of nearby Gerard's Cross intends to spud the well in August. Drilling is expected to take less than 14 days, with the target reservoir at a depth of only 300-400 m (OGJ, Dec. 12, 1994, Newsletter).

Opposition from local residents and environmentalists was apparently held in check by reassurances that the license was for exploration only. The antioil lobby may be more vocal if Canuk drills a discovery and seeks to develop it.

"As this is for exploration and for a maximum of 8 weeks drilling, there was no planning reason to refuse permission," said Don Beer, chairman of the council's development control and waste regulation committee.

"If the company were to find oil they would have to apply to us for planning permission, as minerals authority, and we would have to consider their application in light of the different planning criteria."

DRILLING CHALLENGE

Desmond Oswald, director of Canuk, said any development would not take place within the Windsor Great Park area, including the castle grounds.

Assuming Canuk finds oil under the castle, there is an immediate challenge. The shallow reservoir and the need to place wellheads a distance from the field would require extended reach drilling with a descending trajectory which then would climb toward the reservoir.

One adviser warned Oswald the reservoir may be too shallow to deplete using extended reach drilling. "But I don't believe it," Oswald said.

If the reservoir size justifies the expense of extended reach drilling, there is the problem of siting production facilities. Canuk most likely would look for a local farmer willing to lease land in an environmentally nonsensitive area. Another option is a local industrial site.

SLOUGH OPTION

Near Windsor is the town of Slough, celebrated in a poem by John Betjeman during World War 11. It begins, "Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough/It isn't fit for humans now...," giving the poet's view of how a development boom of the 1920s and 1930s spoiled the once beautiful village.

At the risk of offending the people of Slough once more-and poetry lovers everywhere-I have updated Betjeman's verse to express what I imagine is the opinion of at least one element of the castle's neighboring population:

Come, friendly oilmen, drill in Slough
There isn't much employment now,
Our industries moved east somehow,
Where labor costs are cheap.

Come, oilmen, to our palace royal,
Drill deep for lightest, sweetest oil,
Suck up wealth from Berkshire soil
And let us earn our keep. Copyright 1995 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.