Geochemical modelling of the East Irish Sea Basin: its influence on predicting hydrocarbon type and quality

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Abstract
A number of oil discoveries have been made in recent years in the East Irish Sea Basin (EISB). These have renewed industry interest in a basin which many thought to be essentially gas prone. British Gas, over a number of years, has developed and refined a basin model for the area based upon in excess of 23 000 km of seismic data and 40 wells. This model shows that the present-day distribution of oil and gas is controlled by complex interrelationships between the thermal and tectonostratigraphic history of the EISB. An integrated approach has been adopted in creating the model, which includes data generated from many sources including AFTA, detailed diagenetic and geochemical studies and more conventional geological, geophysical, and petrophysical analysis. The paper will address several aspects of the current basin model, including oil–source rock correlation, the origins of hydrogen sulphide within the EISB, and the problems and solutions in validating a basin model when so much of the rock record is missing.