BGS MNSH Final March 2016: Palaeozoic Petroleum Systems Study for the UK Continental Shelf

BGS MNSH Final March 2016 is a petroleum geoscience study by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and the North Sea Transition Authority, created as part of the 21st Century Exploration Roadmap. It evaluates the remaining petroleum potential of overlooked areas of the UK Continental Shelf, focusing on Carboniferous and Devonian systems around the Mid North Sea High. The results, published under the Open Government License in March 2017, include seismic, well, and gravity interpretations, burial/uplift/maturity modelling, and palaeographic reconstructions.

Use Cases

• Identify prospective hydrocarbon plays based on seismic and well interpretations mentioned in the description.
• Model petroleum system maturity and burial history based on the described burial/uplift/maturity modelling data.
• Reconstruct palaeogeography for exploration targeting based on the palaeographic reconstructions included in the project.
• Integrate onshore geological knowledge with offshore data for regional basin analysis as described in the study.

Strengths

• Project involved collaboration with over 45 oil companies and multiple government/industry bodies.
• Results are peer-reviewed project outputs and were published under the Open Government License.
• Study incorporates multiple data types including seismic interpretations, well data, gravity data, and geochemical studies.

Limitations

• Outputs are described as regional scale and created for project-specific purposes, which may limit granular applications.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

British Geological Survey (BGS) petroleum geoscience team, North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), Oil and Gas UK, and a consortium of over 45 oil companies.

Collection Method

Multidisciplinary study evaluating petroleum potential, including seismic interpretation, well analysis, gravity interpretation, burial/uplift/maturity modelling, source rock geochemistry, and palaeographic reconstruction.

Time Range

Project results were published in March 2017.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-18 11:13:43.580436; freshness should be verified.

Geography

UK Continental Shelf, specifically areas around the Mid North Sea High, Orcadian Basin, East Shetland Platform, and the wider Irish Sea area.