--> Abstract: Northeast Irish Rockall - Assessing Geological Risk in a Deepwater, Frontier Province, by C. Nolan and I. Wilson; #90923 (1999)

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NOLAN, CIARAN, and IAN WILSON, Enterprise Oil plc, Dublin, Ireland

Abstract: Northeast Irish Rockall - Assessing Geological Risk in a Deepwater, Frontier Province

The Rockall Trough is the largest (280,000 km2) and least explored of the basins west of the UK & Ireland. Recent advances in deepwater drilling technology combined with successes in the nearby Faroe-Shetland basin have triggered a renewed phase of exploration in the Rockall. In the NE part of the Irish sector, Enterprise is operator of two adjacent licences (2/94 and 6/97) and in 1998 sponsored part of a 4500 km2 multi-client 3D seismic survey. The area has a variety of plays ranging from Pre-Cretaceous to Eocene and a variety of data suggests an active (present-day) hydrocarbon system.A relative lack of Tertiary intrusives in the area has allowed good imaging of the Pre-Tertiary section.

The volume of 3D seismic (covering most of the licence areas) has allowed regional play based mapping which has in turn been key to assessing the relative risk of the prospects and leads that have been identified. Regional play maps for each of the key elements (source, migration, reservoir and seal) have been produced and together with estimates on the risk of biodegradation, used to produce common risk segments. The lack of well data has highlighted the need to draw from possible analogue plays with better well control (such as the Palaeogene in both the North Sea and Faroe-Shetland basins) and together with a detailed analysis of seismic facies has helped to define depositional models.Analysis of AVO and coherency data has also helped to refine risk and ultimately high-grade potential drillable prospects.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90923@1999 International Conference and Exhibition, Birmingham, England