The petroleum potential of the Old Red Sandstone of northern Scotland

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Abstract
Synopsis: The Devonian of northern Scotland and the Moray Firth contains lacustrine oil source rocks in both the Lower and Middle divisions. In onshore areas the majority of the source rocks lie in the oil window with the least mature rocks situated both at the basin margin and at the top of the succession in the main basin area which contains thick Middle ORS. Hydrocarbons generated and reservoired in pre-Permian times were probably lost during faulting and erosion episodes at the end of the early Devonian, the end of the mid-Devonian and in Carboniferous-Permian times. Devonian rocks preserved beneath Permian and Mesozoic basin fills in excess of 2 km in the Inner Moray Firth would have generated hydrocarbons from late Jurassic times onwards. These hydrocarbons could be preserved within fault blocks or have migrated to reservoirs in the Mesozoic as has been postulated in the case of the Beatrice Oilfield. The most prospective exploration areas for Devonian-sourced oil are considered to be in the Great Glen and Wick Sub-Basins and the Smith Bank Graben.