Firm to drill for oil

The firm is to drill a test well

An engineering firm has been given permission to drill for oil in a village, despite opposition from some residents.

The proposal involves setting up a rig on farm land in Eakring, Nottinghamshire.

The Nottingham firm Stag Energy has been given permission to drill an exploration well to see if it is economically viable.

Some residents are concerned about the effect on the environment.

Nottinghamshire county councillors have decided the plan should go ahead with noise limits imposed on the plant.

The area previously produced thousands gallons of oil during World War II.

Peter Wheelhouse of Stag Energy described how they will find out how much oil is left.

"We will do an appraisal to test and if we were successful we would take a small quantity of oil from the well for up to 15 years," he said.

Local residents had previously called for research to see how the development will affect people living in the surrounding area.

Mr Wheelhouse insisted an environmental study is not necessary because of the small scale of the operation.

He says there is no history of harmful gases being produced from the 200 wells that have been drilled in the area over the years.