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Structural constraints on Lower Carboniferous shale gas exploration in the Craven Basin, NW England

View ORCID ProfileIain Anderson and John R. Underhill
Petroleum Geoscience, 26, 303-324, 2 April 2020, https://doi.org/10.1144/petgeo2019-125
Iain Anderson
Centre for Exploration Geoscience, Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering, School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure & Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Campus, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
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John R. Underhill
Centre for Exploration Geoscience, Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering, School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure & Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Campus, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
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Abstract

Detailed interpretation of a 3D seismic data volume reveals the detrimental effect that post-depositional tectonic deformation has had on buried Lower Carboniferous (Dinantian–Namurian) shales and its consequences for shale gas exploration in the SW part (Fylde area) of the Craven Basin in NW England. The structural styles primarily result from Devono-Carboniferous (syn-sedimentary) extension, post-rift subsidence and Variscan inversion, a renewed phase of Permo-Triassic extension, and Cenozoic uplift and basin exhumation. In contrast to the shallow dips and bedding continuity that characterizes productive shale gas plays in other basins (e.g. in the USA and Argentina), our mapping shows that the area is affected by deformation that results in the Bowland Shale Formation targets being folded and dissected into fault-bound compartments defined by SW–NE striking (Lower Carboniferous and Variscan) reverse faults and SSW–NNE to N–S striking (Permo-Triassic) normal faults. The fault networks and the misalignment between the elongate compartments they contain and the present-day minimum horizontal stress orientation limit the length over which long lateral boreholes can remain in a productive horizon, placing an important constraint on optimal well positioning, reducing the size of the shale gas resource and affecting well productivity. Our subsurface mapping using this high-fidelity dataset provides an accurate picture of the Upper Palaeozoic structure and demonstrates that faulting is denser and more complex than apparent from geological mapping of the surface outcrop. That structural complexity has direct and significant consequences for: the location of well pads; the lateral continuity of target shale gas horizons; the evaluation of the risk of inducing seismicity on seismically resolvable (large displacement) fault planes prior to drilling; and the likelihood of faults with small throws (below seismic resolution) being present.

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Petroleum Geoscience: 26 (2)
Petroleum Geoscience
Volume 26, Issue 2
May 2020
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Structural constraints on Lower Carboniferous shale gas exploration in the Craven Basin, NW England

Iain Anderson and John R. Underhill
Petroleum Geoscience, 26, 303-324, 2 April 2020, https://doi.org/10.1144/petgeo2019-125
Iain Anderson
Centre for Exploration Geoscience, Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering, School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure & Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Campus, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
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  • ORCID record for Iain Anderson
  • For correspondence: ia205@hw.ac.uk
John R. Underhill
Centre for Exploration Geoscience, Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering, School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure & Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Campus, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
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Structural constraints on Lower Carboniferous shale gas exploration in the Craven Basin, NW England

Iain Anderson and John R. Underhill
Petroleum Geoscience, 26, 303-324, 2 April 2020, https://doi.org/10.1144/petgeo2019-125
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Introduction and rationale
    • Regional setting
    • Stratigraphy
    • Data and methods
    • Permian and Triassic structure
    • Carboniferous structure
    • Implications for shale exploration
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