A recently licensed onshore gas field in the UK could host data centers in the future.

Reabold Resources received an Environmental Agency permit in February 2026 for recompletion works at the West Newton A-2 well outside Hull in East Riding of Yorkshire.

Reabold told DCD it is currently in discussions with data center firms to co-locate a data center on site. The firm said the development could scale up to 100MW, with more than 20 years of potential energy production.

The company said the project is a “unique opportunity” to be the UK’s – and possibly Europe’s – first wellhead-to-data center project. Reabold hasn’t named the potential end users it is in discussions with, but is reportedly open to varying deal structures depending on the customer.

The West Newton site near Hull is estimated to hold up to 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas, one of the largest onshore discoveries in the UK market. Reabald will use fracking to extract the gas.

Reabald said the project would allow customers to purchase stranded gas at discounted prices, while the ability to co-locate power generation on-site could eliminate the need for a grid connection.

Sachin Oza, co-CEO, Reabold Resources, told DCD: “There is a race against time to stand up enough AI capacity to meet the future needs of the UK and the AI revolution. This is a unique opportunity to derisk a project by cutting out access to grid, by co-locating a data center at the wellhead and directly countering the headwinds of high energy prices.”

He continued: “A renewed focus on energy security has underscored the enduring importance of oil and gas within an increasingly complex and uncertain global landscape. As energy demand continues to rise, driven by data centers, AI, and electrification, West Newton can harness domestic energy resources not only to address the UK’s energy security needs but to fuel the emerging digital economy.”

London-based Reabold Resources focuses on high-potential, low-risk upstream oil and gas projects. In addition to the West Newton project, the company has acquired assets in Italy and Romania.

Discovered in 2013, gas could flow from the field later this year or next. The gas is set to be harvested using ‘mini-fracking,’ which is exempt from the wider national moratorium on fracking.

The company and its partner Union Jack Oil were both previously exploring potential Bitcoin mining deployments at the site – with Reabold saying that a successful crypto project could allow for the development of a larger-scale data center at the site.

Reabold said that while successful recompletion works at the West Newton A-2 well could allow for the development of a data center, it would not preclude the potential for gas-to-grid or gas-to-industrial consumption development options. The data center would be fueled by gas produced from additional wells.

The project has been met with opposition from local residents and officials. Given the wave of anti-data center sentiment being felt in the UK and many locales globally, a pure off-grid data center powered by natural gas could well face stiff opposition.