Understanding Magmatic History and its Implications upon Petroleum Systems of the NE Rockall Basin

Understanding magma network dynamics and their relation to the evolution of petroleum systems is an important consideration in hydrocarbon exploration. However, the need for such studies is often overlooked due to the compromised subsurface imaging in associated basins.

Here, we mapped and quantitatively analysed a series of over 100 intrusions within Cretaceous to Paleocene host rocks. We demonstrate that sill morphologies include saucer-shaped, strata-concordant and inclined sheet varieties. Some areas of the sill-complex are dominated by small, clustered sills, whilst other areas contain larger, but fewer, isolated sills. The range in distribution and morphology of the sills implies that different emplacement mechanisms occurred across the region.

Understanding the distribution and geometry of the intrusions, but also their interaction with surrounding strata allowed the igneous-related risks upon the petroleum systems in the NE Rockall to be assessed. The position of the intrusions in-between the source rocks and proven post-rift reservoir intervals led to a particular focus upon how the igneous aspects effect compartmentalisation, maturation and timing of source intervals within the NE Rockall Basin.