When wells that lay dormant for more than a year spring back to life, seasoned investors do more than take note. In Lincolnshire, an unassuming patch of countryside has become the focus of renewed activity, as a modest restart at Keddington hints at untapped potential that could reverberate across Union Jack Oil’s wider portfolio.
Union Jack Oil moved swiftly when equipment upgrades finally came online, transforming a once-static asset into a revenue stream almost overnight. In June, the field delivered close to a thousand barrels over just 23 days of timed pumping, signalling not only the reliability of recent site enhancements but also the resilience of onshore infrastructure when properly maintained. That initial run yielded more than 1,450 barrels of oil sold since recommissioning, a figure that might appear restrained at first glance but that belies the compelling economics of onshore operation, where operating costs are low and payback periods can be measured in weeks rather than years.
Beneath its pastoral surface, Keddington sits within PEDL005, a licence area where Union Jack holds a 55 per cent stake alongside Egdon Resources. The partnership has steadily invested in the field’s refurbishment, installing new pumps, upgrading surface facilities and reinforcing flowlines during 2024 and into the early months of 2025. These enhancements have pushed daily flow rates well beyond the levels seen on the eve of suspension last May, underscoring the value of repositioning legacy assets through targeted capital expenditure rather than expensive greenfield exploration.
Beyond immediate cash generation, Keddington also offers a runway for expansion. Company forecasts envisage infill drilling could recover an extra 113,000 to 183,000 barrels, while planning permission for a step-out well sits in hand, awaiting a macro-economic environment deemed favourable. That optionality sits at the heart of Union Jack’s strategy: to leverage small-scale interventions that unlock discrete packages of hydrocarbons, minimise geological risk and preserve flexibility for shareholders. In an era of large-scale project write-offs and protracted sanction cycles, Keddington exemplifies a nimble approach that can deliver material returns with modest upfront spend.
While some might view onshore UK oil as a holdover from a bygone era of large rigs and deep pockets, Union Jack’s position in the East Midlands tells a different story. The company has interests in multiple licence areas, including Wressle, Biscathorpe and North Kelsey in Lincolnshire, and West Newton in East Yorkshire. Each location carries its own blueprint for development, ranging from appraisal activity to potential gas production, and forms part of a diversified slate designed to balance near-term cashflow with longer-term growth options.
In parallel, the firm’s US ventures offer an additional avenue for value creation, leveraging the same operational playbook but in a jurisdiction renowned for rapid permitting and established service infrastructure. Together, the UK and US portfolios bring a degree of geographic and regulatory diversity that can help cushion volatility in oil prices, while also granting shareholders exposure to upside across multiple fronts.
For investors disciplined on risk but seeking differentiated oil and gas exposure, Union Jack’s methodology is quietly persuasive. Rather than chasing headline-grabbing offshore super-fields, the company drills where logistics are simple, timelines are short and costs are transparent. It is an approach that turns modest production figures into meaningful metrics when judged against development spend measured in a few million pounds rather than hundreds of millions.
Looking ahead, every barrel from Keddington helps defray overheads, funds appraisal work elsewhere and underscores the thesis that incremental production can compound into significant enterprise-value uplift. As the field’s performance data accumulates, market participants will be watching to see whether this restart represents a one-off spike or the first chapter in a steady operational rhythm. Either way, it has already reshaped expectations around what Union Jack can achieve with assets that many had written off.
Union Jack Oil plc (LON:UJO) is an oil and gas company with a focus on onshore production, development, exploration and investment opportunities within the United Kingdom and the United States of America hydrocarbon sector.
