Rattray could hold the last great North Sea oil reserves

Vulcanism was supposed to have scuppered the oil potential of a large area of the central North Sea, but academics say it may be worth another look

North Sea operators have been urged to look again at old assumptions, after fresh analysis of historic seismic data revealed a swathe of the basin may yet hold hydrocarbon reserves. The Rattray volcanic province in the central North Sea remains largely unexplored, despite being located in one of the world's most prolific-though now mature-regions for oil and gas production. Drillers have given Rattray a wide berth in the past, because it was believed that basalt lava flows erupting within an area of 7,000 km2 (2,700 sq miles) from volcanoes active 165mn years ago had formed magma chambers. These would have prevented the existence of large oil and gas deposits today, the geological argument r