Arreton

Oil Drilling at Arreton

British Petroleum Co. commenced drilling for oil in the Lower Greensand strata at Perreton Farm on the outskirts of Arreton in October 1952 and continued until April 1953, reaching a total depth of 5161 feet. The successions of formations penetrated with their respective thicknesses are listed below. Slight traces of oil and bituminous lignite were found at various points but apparently not enough in commercial quantity. British Petroleum Co., prepared a graphical form of the Well-Log, giving exact and complete details of the drilling thought the period and these were logged with the Museum of Isle of Wight Geology. The drilling details and core samples in feet are listed here:

Arreton Oil Drilling Table
Period	Core Samples	Depth in Feet
Cretaceous	Lower Greensand	210
"	Wealden	1980
Jurassic	Purbeck	373
"	Portland	87
"	Kimmeridge	1107
"	Corallion	216
"	Oxford Clay	450
"	Kellaways Beds	99
"	Cornbrash	19
"	Great Oolite	196
"	Fullers Earth	252
"	Inferior Oolite	172