AIM-listed UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) is set to officially change its name to UK Energy Group (UKEn) on 11 September, reflecting a strategic pivot away from its historical focus on UK onshore oil and gas extraction towards geological energy storage and clean power projects.
The rebranding will see the company’s ticker symbol on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) switch from UKOG to UKEN, aligning its public identity with its existing subsidiary of the same name. The company’s International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) will remain unchanged.
UK Energy Group is concentrating its efforts on hydrogen storage and related clean power initiatives. A key development in this strategy is an agreement struck in 2022 by its UKEn subsidiary to lease two sites at a former Royal Navy port in Dorset. These sites are earmarked for the development of an energy hub centred around a 1 billion cubic metre hydrogen-ready salt cavern gas storage facility.
The company also has plans for a salt cavern hydrogen storage site in East Yorkshire. To advance its hydrogen projects, UKOG issued new shares to raise £1 million, intended to fund development in South Dorset and Yorkshire, an initiative noted as having occurred back in 2025. Additionally, £500,000 was raised from investors specifically for the acquisition of land for the East Yorkshire salt cavern hydrogen storage site.
Concurrent with its investment in hydrogen, the company has been actively divesting its hydrocarbon assets in recent months. In June, UKOG completed the sale of its landmark Horse Hill oilfield, located near Gatwick airport, to Energy B in a deal valued at over £1 million. The development of the Horse Hill field had previously faced scrutiny, including a 2024 lawsuit from climate campaigners that led to a retrospective planning application from UKOG.
Further divestment occurred in July, when UKOG sold two onshore oil and gas licences to Servatec Holdings for £400,000. This sale encompassed the company’s 10% interest in licence PL211 and a 5% interest in PEDL070, which contain the Horndean and Avington oil fields in Hampshire. The funds generated from these asset sales are earmarked to drive the company's planned hydrogen storage investments in Dorset and Yorkshire.
Despite these divestments, the firm is likely to retain its fully-owned PEDL234 licence at Loxley/Godley Bridge, which is described as a natural gas/hydrogen feedstock appraisal project, indicating its potential relevance to both traditional energy sources and the emerging hydrogen economy.
