Contact Details

Telephone

work +44 (0)1224 272096

Email

n.schofield@abdn.ac.uk

Web Links

Aberdeen University Stories

Unearthing oil and gas potential within volcanic landscapes

Biography

Nick Schofield is a Reader/Assoc. Prof. in Igneous and Petroleum Geology. He specializes in the seismic and field interpretation of intrusive and extrusive sequences in volcanic terranes and their interaction with hydrocarbon systems.

He has been at the forefront of allowing the industry to understand the challenging volcanic geology in the subsurface around the UKCS, Atlantic Margin, East Africa and Australasia 

Research Interests

• Seismic Interpretation of Volcanics
• Petroleum Geology
• Evolution of Sedimentary Basins affected by Volcanism
• Sill Complexes
• Intra-Basaltic hydrocarbon plays
• Lava field stratigraphy
• North Atlantic Igneous Province
• South Australian Volcanism
• Salt-Igneous interaction

Current Research

•  UoA_CNOOC_International_PhD_Advert.pdf

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  NERC Oil and Gas CDT - Hydrocarbon Prospectivity of Scotland's Inner West Coast Basins

  To understand the basin evolution of Scotland's Inner Basins and to develop an understanding of the petroleum potential.

   

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  Oil and Gas Authority UK Frontier Basins Research - Rockall

   

   

   

  The funding is part of a package of measures announced by the Prime Minister to support the UK oil and gas industry and boost future exploration in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) as part of OGA’s Frontier Basins Research effort.

   

• Interaction of Igneous Sills with the Petroleum System in the Flett Basin (Laggan-Tormore trend)

   

   

  The aim of this project is to fully characterise the nature of igneous intrusions within the Flett Basin and understand their potential impact on the Hydrocarbon System. This will be achi...

   

   

• The Balder Formation West of Shetland

   

   

  The aim of this project is to undertake a truly regional re-appraisal of the Balder Formation across the UKCS and to better understand its role in the petroleum system. The Eocene aged ...

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• NERC Oil and Gas CDT - The Intra-Basaltic Play West of Shetland

   

   

  The intra-basalt and sub-basalt domains of FSB, represents arguably the last frontier area of hydrocarbon exploration of the UK territorial waters. A major oil and gas discovery was made...

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• Hydrothermal Fluid Flow in the Faroe-Shetland Basin

   

   

  On localised scales, the effects of direct flash heating by intrusions can lead to contact metamorphism, however a less well understood phenomenon is the creation of longer term hydrother...

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• NERC Oil and Gas CDT - Linking Rifting History and Magmatic Cyclicity West of Britain (WoB)

   

   

  Aim: To decipher the high resolution stratigraphy of the volcanic sequences WoB and place them in the correct linked context of basin rifting and tectonic evolution, ultimately allowing u...

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• The Rattray and Ron Volcanics in the Central North Sea - Carnegie PhD scholarship

   

   

  The North Sea, and more specifically the highly prospective Central North Sea, continues to play an essential role in shaping the economy of Scotland and the rest of the UK. However, its ...

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Awards

2015 - DG Roberts/Peter Ziegler Award (Petroleum Geology Confrence)

2014 - 2015  - Clough Award

2013 - Young Author of the Year Award – Geological Society London

2012 - Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association Best Paper Award

Publications 

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