Britain Is Sitting on Western Europe’s Largest Onshore Oil Field — But There’s One Problem

0:00 The oilfield beneath Pool Harbour 1:07 Mapping the hidden field 2:19 How the search for oil began 5:01 The five conditions that made oil 7:57 Drilling from land 12:07 The Oas Bay pipeline leak 15:32 Witch Farm’s uncertain future 18:36 What lies beneath the ferry route I take you across Pool Harbour to reveal the oilfield hidden beneath Dorset’s protected coast, heathland and harbour. Witch Farm has produced since 1979, reached a peak of 110,000 barrels a day, and was developed without putting a platform on the horizon. I trace how the field was discovered, how oil formed and moved through the Wessex Basin, and how BP used extended reach drilling to reach reservoirs beneath the harbour and bay from land. I also examine the field’s decline, the 2023 pipeline leak in Oas Bay, the response and environmental consequences, and what Perenco’s plans could mean for Witch Farm’s remaining life and eventual decommissioning.