Is the discovery of further oil deposits beneath Dorset bad news for the countryside?
It has been reported in the media that Norwest Energy, an Australian company, has identified seven possible oil-drilling sites in Dorset.
Of these five are said to be in the Bournemouth and Poole areas near the Isle of Purbeck, with the remaining two in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight.
Experts speculate that up to half a million barrels of oil and as much as five billion cubic feet of gas can be sourced from the sites.
Although modest by world standards, the finds are regarded as potentially commercially significant.
Drilling for oil in the county is not new; indeed, BP has a small operational field at Wytch Farm, near Wareham, that has been in production for over thirty years now.
BP has concealed the site, the largest onshore oil field in western Europe, behind a screen of pine trees – with the oil and gas being transported by pipelines.
This suggesting that similar concealment measures may be adopted should the seven sites be developed and brought to production.
However, the discovery has not been universally welcomed.
Dorset environmentalists are concerned that commercial development of the fields could lead to both pollution and environmental damage, particularly if exploitation involves the building of sizeable industrial facilities and access roads in what is currently pristine countryside.
Some environmentalists argue that no matter what lengths the developers go to that they cannot but help to compromise the countryside and the important eco-systems it supports in the areas of Dorset concerned.
However, if further drilling indicates that the deposits are of little commercial value then it is likely that the areas under potential threat will be reprieved.
