UK Oil & Gas PLC Accelerates Clean Energy Transition with Interim Results and Key Hydrogen Storage Alliances

Why UKOG’s National Gas and Wales & West Utilities hydrogen alliances matter

The standout strategic development in this RNS is the pair of memorandums of understanding, or MOUs. An MOU is not a final contract – it is an agreement to work together – but with infrastructure projects like these, getting credible counterparties around the table is a big early milestone.

In October 2025, UK Energy Storage, the wholly owned subsidiary known as UKEn, signed an MOU with National Gas. This is aimed at collaboration around Project Union, the proposed national 100% hydrogen transmission backbone, and potential connections to UKOG’s planned storage sites in East Yorkshire and South Dorset.

Then in March 2026, UKEn signed another MOU with Wales & West Utilities to explore a future hydrogen pipeline connection between HyLine South West and the planned South Dorset storage project.

Why does this matter? Because storage only becomes valuable if it can sit within a working transport network and serve real industrial demand. These agreements do not guarantee revenue, but they improve UKOG’s credibility and give its projects a clearer route into the Government’s Hydrogen Transport and Hydrogen Storage Business Model allocation rounds due to start in 2026.

That is probably the most important medium-term value driver here. If UKOG can position its assets inside a supported UK hydrogen framework, the projects move from interesting geology to potentially strategic infrastructure.

South Dorset hydrogen storage project is becoming the centrepiece

South Dorset looks like the flagship. DEEP.KBB GmbH completed a preliminary design for a hydrogen storage facility west of Weymouth, with 24 salt caverns in three clusters of eight at a depth of around 1,330 metres below surface.

That is significant because it moves the project beyond vague concept language. There is still a long way to go, but a defined cavern design gives investors something more tangible to assess.

UKOG also says South Dorset is, to date, the sole planned national-scale hydrogen storage node in southern England. That is the company’s wording, and if it proves accurate in the market, it could become an important strategic angle. Southern England is not exactly overrun with hydrogen storage options.

The company is also leaning into the Dorset Clean Energy Super Cluster, a wider regional initiative with a stated £28 billion ambition covering hydrogen, offshore wind, carbon capture and storage, and port infrastructure. That cluster angle does not create cash today, but it does help place UKOG’s project into a bigger industrial story.

East Yorkshire hydrogen storage could add scale, but it is less advanced

The East Yorkshire project also looks potentially important, especially given its location near the existing SSE Thermal/Equinor Aldbrough gas storage site. That kind of geography can matter in energy infrastructure.

But investors should be clear-eyed here. East Yorkshire appears earlier stage than Dorset, with concept feasibility work and land acquisition still ongoing. Useful, yes. De-risked, not yet.

Horse Hill sale and Broadford Bridge clean-up show UKOG is serious about exiting oil

The company’s oil and gas retreat is no longer theoretical. It completed the disposal of UKOG (GB) Limited on 3 December 2025, covering the Horndean and Avington oil field interests, and in June 2026 agreed the sale of its entire 85.635% interest in Horse Hill and the surrounding PEDL137 licence for £1.0 million, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

That Horse Hill deal matters symbolically as much as financially. Horse Hill was once the centre of the UKOG investment case, but production has remained suspended following the June 2024 Supreme Court ruling requiring downstream combustion emissions to be included within the Environmental Impact Assessment.

UKOG has submitted a retrospective planning application in April 2026, and production could resume if approved, but the company is clearly heading for the exit. For investors, that reduces exposure to planning battles and legacy operational drag, though it also removes any near-term oil production upside.

Broadford Bridge is another example. UKOG completed plugging and abandonment of the BB-1/1z well in February 2026, which ticks an important regulatory box and shows the company is cleaning up after itself while moving on.

UKOG balance sheet, dilution and going concern: better, but still not comfortable

There is definite progress in the financial position. Net liabilities improved to £2.2 million from £5.7 million at 30 September 2025, and current liabilities fell to £3.6 million from £5.2 million, largely due to settlement of historic creditors.

But let’s not over-polish it. Total liabilities of £4.8 million still exceed total assets of £2.6 million, so shareholders are backing a company that remains financially stretched.

There is also the dilution point. The weighted average number of ordinary shares used to calculate basic loss per share rose to 28,631,712,838 from 17,217,274,165. That is the price of the fundraise-supported turnaround – more cash, but spread across many more shares.

The directors have stated that the business remains a going concern, meaning they believe it can keep operating for at least the next 12 months. On the reported cash balance, that looks reasonable for now, but future funding risk has not disappeared.

What UKOG interim results mean for retail investors

This RNS is broadly positive if you believe UK hydrogen infrastructure will attract real government and industry backing. UKOG has improved its cash position, lined up relevant network partners, and is getting rid of legacy oil assets that were increasingly more trouble than they were worth.

The negative is equally clear. There is very little revenue, ongoing cash burn, no disclosed project economics, and no certainty that these hydrogen storage assets will secure support under the UK policy framework.

So the investment case has changed shape. UKOG is no longer mainly a speculative UK onshore oil share. It is becoming a higher-risk, earlier-stage hydrogen storage developer with some encouraging strategic validation.

In plain English, this is better than standing still, but it is still a long way from proven commercial success. Investors should watch for three things next: progress on HT&SBM allocation rounds, further technical and feasibility updates on Dorset and East Yorkshire, and completion of the Horse Hill disposal.