21CXRM Palaeozoic Project: UKCS Petroleum Systems Analysis

Over 45 oil companies collaborated with the British Geological Survey and the UK North Sea Transition Authority to evaluate overlooked hydrocarbon potential. This multidisciplinary study integrates seismic, well, and gravity interpretations with burial, uplift, and maturity modelling for Carboniferous and Devonian plays. Results were published under the Open Government License in March 2017 and are accessible via the BGS Offshore GeoIndex.

Use Cases

• Identifying prospective Carboniferous and Devonian plays based on integrated seismic and well interpretations.
• Conducting basin modelling for hydrocarbon maturity using burial and uplift history reconstructions.
• Planning frontier exploration around the Mid North Sea High and Orcadian Basin using regional geological studies.
• Incorporating onshore geological knowledge to inform offshore petroleum system models.

Strengths

• Collaboration involved a consortium of over 45 oil companies, indicating broad industry validation.
• Multidisciplinary approach combines seismic, well, gravity, geochemistry, and palaeographic data.
• Results are published under the Open Government License, facilitating open access and reuse.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unknown across all sources.
• The 'last updated' dates conflict between platforms (2024-01-25 and 2026-06-18), creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Descriptions note outputs are at a 'regional' scale, which may limit detail for localized analysis.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

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

Time Range

Project results published in March 2017; study focuses on Palaeozoic geology (Devonian and Carboniferous periods).

Freshness

Last updated dates conflict: 2024-01-25 and 2026-06-18.

Geography

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