Exploration Insights December 2019/ January 2020 | Page 18

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Near-Field Discoveries
on the UKCS: Putting
Borderline Discoveries into
a Regional Context
by: Ellen Mackay, University of Aberdeen , U.K.
Image from https://www.maxpixel.net/Communication-Global-Globalisation-Technology-3369659
For the United Kingdom Continental Shelf
(UKCS) 30 th licensing round, the Oil and Gas
Authority (OGA) released the ‘Undeveloped
Discoveries’ dataset, comprising approximately
350 near-field discoveries thought to be non-
commercial. The study in this article focused on
both the Southern North Sea and Central North
Sea basins, and investigated geoscience trends
from these discoveries (Figure 1). We identified
common reasons why these discoveries are
non-commercial, and compared them with
commercial discoveries on the UKCS. In this
article, we focus on our findings from the
Southern North Sea Basin (Figure 2).
DATASET
The primary source of public domain data used
in the report was the National Data Repository
(NDR), provided by the OGA. The datasets
included core analyses, geothermal and pressure
databases, PDF montages of the discoveries,
well reports, and geospatial information.
Additionally, access was provided to the Neftex ®
Insights WMS feed for Neftex Gross Depositional
Environment (GDE) maps, Play Cross Sections,
and Chronostratigraphic Charts.
METHODOLOGY
The OGA undeveloped discovery montages
were reviewed for the Southern North Sea Basin
in order to gain an overview of the available
information, including the key risks associated
with the discoveries. This was combined with a
review of the tectonostratigraphic history of the
basin from Neftex Chronostratigraphic Charts and
Play Cross Sections, leading to the identification
of petroleum system element risks within the
basins. Once risks had been identified, the
relevant datasets were used to evaluate them.
For the Southern North Sea Basin, reservoir
quality was identified as a key risk. This risk was
assessed using well reports, core analyses, and
temperature datasets to estimate porosity and
permeability within the undeveloped discoveries
(figures 4, 5, and 6). The key objectives in
analyzing the reservoir quality were to answer
the following questions:
1. What is the distribution of porosities and
permeabilities of the Permian Rotliegend
Group and the Carboniferous reservoirs?