As part of the NSTA’s published 2018/19 Activity Plan, the NSTA is publishing a set of regional geological maps for the Cardigan Bay and East Irish Sea. These maps represent the eighth set of deliverables from a 3 year contract with Lloyd’s Register (LR) to produce a series of maps and associated databases for the whole of the UKCS. All data released with this set of geological maps is public domain data. The project has, however, benefited from a number of additional third-party data sources which have been used to help inform final maps and/or derive interpreted products. These include CGG’s Target database and relevant products available via the BGS’s Offshore Geoindex. TGS are gratefully acknowledged for providing joined digital log data from LogLinePlus to enable the production of lithology curves. A selection of papers has been used to inform the maps, of which the most important ones are listed below:

Dunford, G.M, Dancer, P.N. & Long, K.D. (2001) Hydrocarbon potential of the Kish Bank Basin: integration within a regional model for the Greater Irish Sea Basin. In: P.M. Shannon, P.D.W. Haughton & D.V. Corcoran (eds) The Petroleum Exploration of Ireland’s Offshore Basins. Geological Society, London, Special Publication 188, 135-154.

Floodpage, J., Newman, P. & White, J. (2001) Hydrocarbon prospectivity in the Irish Sea area: insights from recent exploration of the Central Irish Sea, Pee and Solway basins. In: P.M. Shannon, P.D.W. Haughton & D.V. Corcoran (eds) The Petroleum Exploration of Ireland’s Offshore Basins. Geological Society, London, Special Publication 188, 107-134.

Due to the high level, regional nature of the project, the maps are being produced for the main geological time intervals e.g. Paleocene, Lower Cretaceous, Upper Jurassic. Most time intervals include the following products:

• Depth structure maps

• Isochore maps

• Structural elements maps

• Depositional facies maps

• Reservoir distribution maps

• Source rock maps

• Well penetration maps

• Hydrocarbon occurrence maps