Durham University Post-Doctoral Research Project – New Appraisal of the Western Approaches

The SW Approaches and surrounding offshore basins are the focus of this research. The dataset contains final products from a two-year post-doctoral project led by Durham University, funded by the North Sea Transition Authority. Deliverables include chronostratigraphic reviews, assessments of Variscan deformation impact, reservoir quality evaluations, and distribution maps for reservoirs and source rocks.

Use Cases

• Evaluate hydrocarbon prospectivity based on the assessment of reservoir and source rock distribution maps.
• Model subsurface geology using the seismic interpretation grids provided as a starting point for regional mapping.
• Assess the impact of Variscan deformation on basin evolution and resource potential as described in the project deliverables.

Strengths

• Project represents the final products from a two-year research initiative.
• Deliverables include multiple integrated components: a chronostratigraphic review, deformation impact evaluation, reservoir assessment, and distribution maps.
• Seismic interpretation forms the basis for grids released by the NSTA's ongoing Regional Geological Mapping Project.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Freshness should be verified despite the 2026-06-18 last updated timestamp.

Provenance

Source

Consortium led by Durham University, funded by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) Frontier Basins Research Programme.

Collection Method

Post-doctoral research project involving seismic interpretation, geological review, and mapping.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-18 11:13:14.065282

Geography

SW Approaches areas and surrounding basins (UK offshore).