Rockall Basin set for oil and gas exploration bid

A university has been awarded a £250,000 grant to study the potential for oil and gas surrounding the most remote island in the North Atlantic.

Published 2nd May 2016

A university has been awarded a £250,000 grant to study the potential for oil and gas surrounding the most remote island in the North Atlantic.

The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has given the cash to Aberdeen University to investigate the potential for hydrocarbon exploration in the Rockall Basin, named after Rockall - a small uninhabited islet around 300 miles from the Scottish coast.

The funding is part of a package of measures announced by Prime Minister David Cameron to support the UK oil and gas industry and boost future exploration in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) as part of OGA's Frontier Basins Research effort.

Dr Nick Schofield is one of those working on the project and said the money would enable them to apply petroleum geology research they developed in other areas along the Atlantic Margin to Rockall.

He said: “Rockall remains a truly frontier area of hydrocarbon exploration in the UKCS. It is a geologically challenging area, but decoding the geology and petroleum system is what makes it exciting to work on.

“This collaborative effort brings together a collection of experienced, respected industry facing academics, with a passion for the future energy security of the UK.”

Dr Nick Richardson, OGA's head of exploration and new ventures, said: “The post-doctoral research projects will be run and overseen by globally-recognised technical experts, and the University of Aberdeen team, led by Dr Nick Schofield, is ideally-placed to improve the fundamental geological understanding of the Rockall Basin area and help stimulate vital exploration activity.”