The Kopervik fairway, Moray Firth, UK

The Albian–Aptian sand fairway in the Outer Moray Firth of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf, informally referred to as the Kopervik fairway, poses considerable challenges to the explorationist, but has the potential to generate significant commercial reward. After an initial spate of activity in the mid 1970s, the Kopervik Sandstone remained largely ignored as a primary exploration target until the late 1990s, despite its excellent reservoir quality and proven charge. This renewed exploration effort led to a number of successful discoveries. As a result of this activity – and a willingness among operators along the fairway to share information – a large regional database is developing. Drawing on this, we summarize our current and historical understanding of the fairway, using existing discoveries as examples.