Third Energy Onshore Ltd is a UK company involved in oil and gas exploration, including proposals for fracking operations in Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire.
The company was incorporated as Viking Petroleum UK Ltd in October 2003.[1] In December 2003, it acquired a 40% holding in the Ryedale gas fields in North Yorkshire from Edinburgh Oil and Gas plc.[2] In October 2013, Viking acquired Tullow Oil's 60% share in onshore oil interests relating to the North Yorkshire gas fields and operation of the gas-fired Knapton Power Station in October 2013[3] (Knapton is supplied by gas wells in the Kirby Misperton area).[4] Viking changed its name to Third Energy Onshore in October 2013.[1]
Third Energy Onshore was 97% owned by Barclays' private equity division, Barclays Natural Resource Investments;[5] its ultimate parent company, Third Energy Holdings, is based in the Cayman Islands.[6] Sister company Third Energy Offshore was acquired from Third Energy Holdings by Hague and London Oil plc in September 2018,[7] with the deal formally approved in December 2018.[8]
In October 2018, owner Barclays was reported to be considering selling Third Energy Onshore rather than invest a further £5m to make the Kirby Misperton fracking site fully functional in the next 12 months.[9] In March 2019, financial adviser Lazard was reported to be talking to rival energy companies about investing in or acquiring Third Energy Onshore's business.[10] In July 2019, Third Energy Onshore and two sister companies were sold to York Energy, a subsidiary of US-owned Alpha Energy.[11][12]
Main article: Kirby Misperton |
In November 2014, Third Energy Onshore announced its intention to apply for permission to frack near Kirby Misperton.[5][13] In July 2015 Third Energy Onshore applied to North Yorkshire County Council for planning permission to frack a well drilled in 2013 and to produce gas from it. Permission was granted in May 2016; Friends of the Earth and a local pressure group, Frack Free Ryedale, applied for judicial review of the decision,[14] but this application was rejected in December 2016.[4][15] In October 2017, Third Energy Onshore announced its intention to begin fracking within weeks.[16][17]
In November 2017, opponents to the fracking operation called upon the company to confirm its financial standing before commencing work; the company was over a month late in filing its accounts[18] (which were eventually filed on 1 February 2018).[19] In January 2018, Business Secretary Greg Clark said permission for Third Energy Onshore to frack would not be granted until financial checks had been completed by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority,[20] amid concerns about its resilience and ability to fund clean-up costs.[6] The 2016 accounts of Third Energy UK Gas Ltd showed it made a £3.4m loss (down from a £3.85m loss in 2015), but owed £44.7m to its ultimate parent company, Third Energy Holdings, based in the Cayman Islands.[6]
Third Energy Onshore began removing equipment from the site in early February 2018,[21] as questions about the company's finances and management continued, including about the September 2017 appointments[22] of former Carillion interim CEO Keith Cochrane as non-executive chairman,[23] and of Jitesh Gadhia, a Conservative party peer and donor and a non-executive director at HM Treasury body UK Financial Investments (which advises government on dealing with financially distressed businesses) as a non-executive director.[6] Cochrane and Gadhia resigned as directors in September 2018.[24]
In April 2019, the Kirby Misperton site remained dormant over a year after Third Energy Onshire vacated it;[25] the company had earlier said it would drill at the site before the end of 2019.[26] The July 2019 completion of Third Energy Onshore's sale raised fears that fracking might be restarted at Kirby Misperton.[12]