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Think of onshore oil fields and images of oil derricks and “nodding donkeys” may spring to mind, perhaps in Texas or the Middle East. So it might come as a surprise to learn that the UK has its own onshore oil fields, mostly scattered across the east Midlands and southern England. Wytch Farm, on the south coast, is the largest onshore oil field in western Europe.

The industry is now looking at the UK with renewed vigour. Reserves that were previously considered too expensive or hard to reach have been made accessible thanks to higher oil prices and breakthroughs in technologies like fracking and horizontal drilling.

There are plans for new drilling at 15 locations across England, with a Friends of the Earth investigation showing four of these sites are situated within officially designated areas of outstanding natural beauty.