Yorkshire could become the next big oil producing area as a Canadian energy company, Rathlin Energy, plans to drill for oil below villages in East Yorkshire.

The company, Rathlin Energy, plans to drill a borehole 1.5 miles underground between the villages of Bishop Burton and Walkington. It has already sent plans for the project to East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

Highways officers will initially look at the plans and a report recommends that if they feel there will be no impact on local roads then the plans can be approved.

If the plans are given the go-ahead then drilling will take place on farm land 24 hours a day. Drilling is set to last for five weeks.

If the company finds a commercial quantity of oil then it will suspend drilling and submit another application to produce fuel i.e. petroleum.

A spokesman for Rathlin Energy, Tom Selkirk, said “We’ve evaluated the existing oil control. We’ve combined that with the existing seismic data that’s available. We like the looks of what we see in terms of the nature of the rocks that’s present in the sub-surface and the nature of the structure that’s present there. We feel that there may be potential to have some conventional hydro-carbon resources there”.

As the UK tries to become more self-sufficient in energy generation and production, particularly as North Sea oil and gas runs out, then it’s thought there will be an increasing number of applications for similar projects across the country.

A geologist at Manchester University, Professor Ernest Rutter, said “Britain needs to become more self-sufficient in gas and oil. The potential for securing UK energy supplies on home ground is so great that we really can’t turn our backs on it”.