Geological Results of Petroleum Exploration in Britain 1945-1957

Abstract

SummaryThe main geological results of exploration by the British Petroleum Company Limited since 1945 are outlined, and the general basis of operations described.In the south of England new data emphasize the progressive development of the Wealden area as a Jurassic depositional basin, on a surface of mainly Devonian and Carboniferious rocks.In the East Midlands and West Yorkshire more information on the relation of Carboniferous basins is now available, and extensive occurrences of contemporary and intrusive basic igneous rocks are described.In East Yorkshire a south-easterly extension of the Permian potash basin has been proved. Post-Permian formations tend to thicken eastwards from outcrop and also inland (westwards) from the coast.The Permo-Triassic rocks of the Formby area (Lancashire) have been found to lie in a deep valley cut into Carboniferous rocks, and stratigraphic thickness variations demonstrate intra-Triassic fault movements.Further oilfields have been developed at Plungar and Egrnanton in the East Midlands, and three additional discoveries await evaluation.