Oil and gas, Northern Ireland - Revision history

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Introduction

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	Exploration for oil and gas in Northern Ireland began in 1965 and whilst gas has been detected it has not been discovered in commercial quantities. Despite this initial lack of success the rocks beneath Northern Ireland may yet be found to contain undiscovered accumulations of oil or gas.		Exploration for oil and gas in Northern Ireland began in 1965 and whilst gas has been detected it has not been discovered in commercial quantities. Despite this initial lack of success the rocks beneath Northern Ireland may yet be found to contain undiscovered accumulations of oil or gas.

	The two most prospective areas are in the Lower Carboniferous rocks of Co. Fermanagh and south Co. Tyrone and the Carboniferous to Triassic rocks beneath the Antrim Plateau [[Media:P947901.jpg\| (P947901)]]. The former has a history of gas shows from a small number of exploration wells but the prospectivity is reduced by the poor quality of the low permeability tight gas sandstone reservoir rocks. Similar unconventional gas resources are exploited in North America by hydraulically fracturing the reservoir to stimulate gas flow rates. The latter area is even less well explored because of the technical difficulties in imaging the geological structure beneath the thick cover of Palaeogene basalt lava [[Mantle plumes, ocean spreading and the North Atlantic Igneous Province, Palaeogene extrusive igneous rocks, Northern Ireland\|(~~Chapter 14~~)]]. Consequently only five exploration boreholes were drilled between 1971 and 2001. The underlying geology has many similarities to that of the East Irish Sea Basin which hosts the ‘giant’ Morecambe Bay gasfield <ref>Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. 2000. ''Minerals and Petroleum Exploration and Development in Northern Ireland'', ~~20-25~~. The Stationery Office Ltd., Belfast.</ref> [[Media:P947877.jpg\| (P947877)]].		The two most prospective areas are in the Lower Carboniferous rocks of Co. Fermanagh and south Co. Tyrone and the Carboniferous to Triassic rocks beneath the Antrim Plateau [[Media:P947901.jpg\| (P947901)]]. The former has a history of gas shows from a small number of exploration wells but the prospectivity is reduced by the poor quality of the low permeability tight gas sandstone reservoir rocks. Similar unconventional gas resources are exploited in North America by hydraulically fracturing the reservoir to stimulate gas flow rates. The latter area is even less well explored because of the technical difficulties in imaging the geological structure beneath the thick cover of Palaeogene basalt lava [[Mantle plumes, ocean spreading and the North Atlantic Igneous Province, Palaeogene extrusive igneous rocks, Northern Ireland\|(see Mantle plumes, ocean spreading and the North Atlantic Igneous Province, Palaeogene extrusive igneous rocks article)]]. Consequently only five exploration boreholes were drilled between 1971 and 2001. The underlying geology has many similarities to that of the East Irish Sea Basin which hosts the ‘giant’ Morecambe Bay gasfield <ref>Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. 2000. ''Minerals and Petroleum Exploration and Development in Northern Ireland'', 20–25. The Stationery Office Ltd., Belfast.</ref> [[Media:P947877.jpg\| (P947877)]].

	The prospectivity of the two areas may be assessed on the basis of the nature and distribution of the potential source, reservoir and seal rocks. Basin evolution is also important in that its history affects the maturation of the source rocks and the expulsion of hydrocarbons, the reservoir quality and creation of traps, and the relative timing of these processes.		The prospectivity of the two areas may be assessed on the basis of the nature and distribution of the potential source, reservoir and seal rocks. Basin evolution is also important in that its history affects the maturation of the source rocks and the expulsion of hydrocarbons, the reservoir quality and creation of traps, and the relative timing of these processes.

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	<references/>		<references/>

	[[Category:Northern Ireland]]		[[Category:The geology of Northern Ireland]]

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{{nibrg}}
D M Reay

== Introduction ==
[[File:P947901.jpg|thumbnail|Petroleum exploration areas. (P947901)]]

[[File:P947877.jpg|thumbnail|Permo-Triassic basins of Irish Sea and surrounding areas (NT-Newtownards Trough). (P947877)]]

Exploration for oil and gas in Northern Ireland began in 1965 and whilst gas has been detected it has not been discovered in commercial quantities. Despite this initial lack of success the rocks beneath Northern Ireland may yet be found to contain undiscovered accumulations of oil or gas.

The two most prospective areas are in the Lower Carboniferous rocks of Co. Fermanagh and south Co. Tyrone and the Carboniferous to Triassic rocks beneath the Antrim Plateau [[Media:P947901.jpg| (P947901)]]. The former has a history of gas shows from a small number of exploration wells but the prospectivity is reduced by the poor quality of the low permeability tight gas sandstone reservoir rocks. Similar unconventional gas resources are exploited in North America by hydraulically fracturing the reservoir to stimulate gas flow rates. The latter area is even less well explored because of the technical difficulties in imaging the geological structure beneath the thick cover of Palaeogene basalt lava [[Mantle plumes, ocean spreading and the North Atlantic Igneous Province, Palaeogene extrusive igneous rocks, Northern Ireland|(Chapter 14)]]. Consequently only five exploration boreholes were drilled between 1971 and 2001. The underlying geology has many similarities to that of the East Irish Sea Basin which hosts the ‘giant’ Morecambe Bay gasfield <ref>Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. 2000. ''Minerals and Petroleum Exploration and Development in Northern Ireland'', 20-25. The Stationery Office Ltd., Belfast.</ref> [[Media:P947877.jpg| (P947877)]].

The prospectivity of the two areas may be assessed on the basis of the nature and distribution of the potential source, reservoir and seal rocks. Basin evolution is also important in that its history affects the maturation of the source rocks and the expulsion of hydrocarbons, the reservoir quality and creation of traps, and the relative timing of these processes.

:[[Early Carboniferous basins in Co. Fermanagh and south Co. Tyrone, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland|Early Carboniferous basins in Co. Fermanagh and south Co. Tyrone]]

::[[Early Carboniferous basins in Co. Fermanagh and south Co. Tyrone, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Play model|Play model]]

::[[Early Carboniferous basins in Co. Fermanagh and south Co. Tyrone, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Reservoirs|Reservoirs]]

::[[Early Carboniferous basins in Co. Fermanagh and south Co. Tyrone, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Source rocks|Source rocks]]

::[[Early Carboniferous basins in Co. Fermanagh and south Co. Tyrone, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Quality|Quality]]

::[[Early Carboniferous basins in Co. Fermanagh and south Co. Tyrone, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Maturity|Maturity]]

::[[Early Carboniferous basins in Co. Fermanagh and south Co. Tyrone, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Seals|Seals]]

::[[Early Carboniferous basins in Co. Fermanagh and south Co. Tyrone, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Burial history, hydrocarbon generation and trapping mechanisms|Burial history, hydrocarbon generation and trapping mechanisms]]

:[[Permo-Triassic basins, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland|Permo-Triassic basins]]

::[[Permo-Triassic basins, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Play model|Play model]]

::[[Permo-Triassic basins, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Reservoir|Reservoir]]

::[[Permo-Triassic basins, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Source rocks|Source rocks]]

::[[Permo-Triassic basins, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Maturity|Maturity]]

::[[Permo-Triassic basins, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Seals|Seals]]

::[[Permo-Triassic basins, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Burial history, hydrocarbon generation and trapping mechanisms|Burial history, hydrocarbon generation and trapping mechanisms]]

::[[Permo-Triassic basins, oil and gas, mineral resources, Northern Ireland#Trapping styles|Trapping styles]]

<references/>

[[Category:Northern Ireland]]