This text covers a wide range of exploration topics from the regional to the field scale. It provides new information on Neogene to recent stratigraphy and sedimentation in the North Atlantic. A significant amount of exploration has taken place since the publication of Geological Society special publication no. 93 in 1995.

Published by the Geological Society on behalf of PGC Ltd. (1 hardback volume in slipcase). The 8th Conference on the Petroleum Geology of NW Europe was held in September 2015 and marked the 50th anniversary of the first commercial discovery offshore in the North Sea (West Sole, in September 1965). Its focus was ‘50 Years of Learning – a Platform for Present Value and Future Success’ and its objective was to provide an update on discoveries, developments, technologies and geological concepts from the region. The 39 extensively illustrated technical papers cover the full width of recent activity and are divided into the following sections: Plays and fairways; Play assessment; Recent successes and learnings from failures; Infrastructure-led exploration and development; Late-life fields, re-development and the ‘next life’; Onshore exploration and development. The proceedings volume follows the format of many of the previous conferences since the first in 1974. Collectively these provide a unique documentation of the discovery and development of several NW European hydrocarbon provinces. The volume will be of interest to all geoscientists involved in exploration and development in NW Europe. It provides a fascinating overview of how creativity can continue to reveal hidden resources in an area that has been called ‘mature’ for at least the last 20 of its 50-year history.

Normal faults are the primary structures that accommodate extension of the brittle crust. This volume provides an up-to-date overview of current research into the geometry and growth of normal faults. The 23 research papers present the findings of outcrop and subsurface studies of the geometrical evolution of faults from a number of basins worldwide, complemented by analogue and numerical modelling studies of fundamental aspects of fault kinematics. The topics addressed include how fault length changes with displacement, how faults interact with one another, the controls of previous structure on fault evolution and the nature and origin of fault-related folding. This volume will be of interest to those wishing to develop a better understanding of the structural geological aspects of faulting, from postgraduate students to those working in industry.

During the past few years, a number of factors have combined to create renewed petroleum exploration interest in the sedimentary basins that virtually surround Ireland. This volume presents a comprehensive review of the results of recent exploration and production data, and points to possible future trends in exploration activity in the area. it includes contributions from most of the major oil companies active in the region, and covers the full geographical and stratigraphical spectrum of the Irish offshore basins, together with some adjacent and geologically related regions.

This volume addresses the challenges facing explorers and developers alike in a region that is becoming a major focus of the petroleum industry in the United Kingdom, Faroes and North Norway. Several West of Shetland fields are still in the appraisal phase almost a decade after discovery. Sub-volcanic exploration risks remain high: sub-volcanic structural traps are imaged poorly, and so the geophysical community is responding with the application of latest technology. The more simple reservoirs might not be large enough to prompt informed and speedy development decisions; larger fields might have a combination of complexities, requiring a phased approach to the development. Infrastructure has been slow to arrive and planned developments have been subject to dramatic swings in fiscal regime ranging from special allowances to unexpected tax increases. Environmental challenges are significant when moving into more remote, deeper water. The perception of these challenges by the third parties has become much more acute. To sustain its right to operate, the industry has to demonstrate safe drilling operations and appropriate response capability with government agencies.