AN oil well is expected to be built less than a kilometre to the north of historic Athelhampton House.

If it finds sufficient oil it could be in operation for up to 25 years with tankers travelling daily to Fawley refinery.

An exploratory rig, if approved, will be in action immediately north of Waterbarn Cottages and to the east of Bardolf Manor off the Puddletown to Blandford Road.

A final decision will be made by Dorset Council together with applications also being made to the Environment Agency.

The application for the pilot production well comes from South Western Energy Ltd, based in Wales.

Documents lodged with the council says the site will “be managed so as to facilitate minimisation of risk, both physical and financial, and minimisation of disturbance.” It stresses that the scheme does not entail fracking.

The company say they will drill a single vertical into the Cornbrash, Bridport Sands and Sherwood Sandstone for the production of oil. The geological formation which the site lies on has been producing oil in Dorset for more than 60 years, with the Sherwood Sandstone reservoir at a depth of 1,800metres.

Access to the site is expected to be either off the A354 Blandford Road using an existing farm track which passes Bardolf Manor with a second access, via a private farm track off the A35 Athelhampton Road.

South Western Energy say that previous testing and a desktop study indicates the presence of hydrocarbons under the site. If the well finds enough to make the site commercially viable oil will be transported by road using tankers to the Fawley Refinery near Southampton.

The proposed well site is in the corner of a field most recently used to grow maize with the application being made with the landowners consent and using his tracks with only minor alterations, mainly repairing pot holes.

The drill rig will be brought to the site in the early hours to minimise disruption and is carried on a standard six-wheeler lorry with accompanying lorries of similar size with other equipment.

The company say that during the site works there will be around 15 people employed and that, where possible, local services and suppliers will be used.

Establishing the site is expected to take two weeks, with ten weeks for drilling and testing. If adequate reserves are found the construction of a production site could take another 10 weeks which may be followed by up to 25 years of extraction.

Drilling would continue 24 hours a day for about 6-8 weeks with testing also 24-hours a day for up to two weeks.

Production would also mean 24-hour working with 8 tanker movements a day, based on volumes from the well. The company say noise barriers will be used throughout the operation and claim that “any noise that does emanate from the site will not have a significant adverse effect on the living conditions of surrounding residents.” They are not expecting any smells and steps will be taken to control dust in dry conditions. A complaints system will be put in place by the company prior to the construction of the site.

Should the site be economically viable the rig will be taken away and replaced by a beam pump, often referred to as a ‘nodding donkey’ with adjoining storage tanks which will be emptied by tankers.

“The drilling and production will not have any impact on the local community or environment being properly managed through the planning and environmental permitting procedures,” claimed the company in its conclusion.

A public meeting about the proposal with parish councillors and local people was held in November with the company claiming to have adequately answered local questions about the scheme, including worries about possible pollution to the Devil’s Brook and likely effects on the natural habitat and bridleways.