Some geological advances resulting from North Sea exploration

In 1964 when the first well was spudded in the search for hydrocarbons beneath the North Sea, little was known about the geology. Since then, in the process of discovering some 35x10 barrels (4.8x10 m³) of recoverabie oil and 180x10 ft³ (5x10 m³) of gas, there has been an explosion of geological, geophysical and geochemical data. What seems obvious now but was not realized when exploration began, is that in many areas of the North Sea the stratigraphical sequence is more continuous than in the positive flanking are as of adjacent land. Indeed, those flank areas sourced a great variety of sediments, which were then deposited in a range of basinal environments, all of which makes the North Sea such a fascinating area to study.