THE IRISH SEA REGION: WHY THE GENERAL LACK OF EXPLORATION SUCCESS?

With the exception of the prolific East Irish Sea Basin, there have been no hydrocarbon discoveries to date in the other basins in the Irish Sea region. Excellent reservoirs, viable seals and structural traps have been identified in all the basins, suggesting that other factors have prevented the accumulation or preservation of oil and gas. The lack of exploration success in the Lame - Lough Neagh, Solway and Peel, Kish Bank and Central Irish Sea Basins is attributed to a combination of poor preservation of regional source rocks, unfavourable timing of hydrocarbon migration and trap formation and, locally, a lack of seal integrity. Inversion episodes during latest Carboniferous, Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous and Early Tertiary times were critical in preventing the optimum conditions necessary for the generation and preservation of oil and gas in these basins.