The Stratigraphic Nomenclature of the Irish Offshore Basins

Over 50 years of research and exploration in the Irish offshore have provided a vast archive of geological and geophysical information from which the geological evolution of the region has been pieced together. A total of 161 exploration and appraisal wells, a significant number of development wells and a small number of important shallower boreholes have been drilled, while a very large volume of 2D and 3D seismic data has been acquired across the Irish offshore. In addition, a number of important regional wide-angle seismic reflection and refraction profiles have helped constrain the deep crustal structure and controls on the main basins. The history of exploration has been summarised in various publications, including Naylor & Shannon (2011) and Shannon (2018).