GeoPartners, in partnership with MAGE, Seabird Exploration and DownUnder GeoSolutions, have kicked off the acquisition of a new regional multiclient 2D (MC2D) seismic survey called North Celtic Sea 2015, according to a news release. This Ireland/UK cross-border project is located mostly in the Irish North Celtic Sea and St. Georges Channel.

Acquisition commenced in early July using the MAGE vessel Nikolay Trubyatchinsky (formerly Polar Explorer). Plans are to acquire up to 6,000 km of long offset broadband data. Dip lines have been planned to complement vintage data and a strike-line orientation has been designed to minimize side-swipe from faults, the release said.

This area of the Celtic Sea and U.K. Western Approaches is underexplored at pre-Cretaceous levels and shows promise, especially within the Jurassic and Triassic sequences, which few wells have penetrated, according to the release. There is a proven Liassic source rock and potential reservoirs include the Triassic Sherwood sandstone and Jurassic limestone and sandstone. Locally, the carboniferous could provide a gas source from coal measures and a potential oil source from the Bowland Shale, as in the Morecambe Bay Hamilton Field.

The survey provides well ties to most of the wells in the survey area. According to the release, key wells include

• UK 106/24-1 which had live oil shows in Middle Jurassic Bathonian limestones and sandstones;
• IRL 49/9-2 Helvick oil discovery which flowed light oil (44 degree API) at a cumulative rate of about 10,000 barrels of oil per day from Middle Jurassic Bathonian limestones and Upper Jurassic sandstones and
• UK 103/1-1 Dragon gas condensate discovery which flowed at a rate of 21 million standard cublic feet per day from Upper Jurassic sandstones.

Broadband processing and imaging will be carried out by DownUnder GeoSolutions utilizing its deghosting solution, DUG Broad. Processing will be completed in January 2016, the release said.