Tectonic framework and petroleum potential of the Celtic Sea, Ireland

The Celtic Sea region, lying off the south coast of Ireland, contains an assemblage of Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentary basins. These have been the focus of exploration attention during the past couple of decades but success has been slow in coming. This is largely attributed to the complex geology resulting in generally poor seismic data quality. During the past few years, improvements in seismic acquisition and processing techniques have resulted in better seismic quality and deeper penetration. This has allowed a new insight into the evolution and the likely-petroleum plays.