The North Sea has matured into its production phase and explorationists are now searching for hydrocarbons on the Atlantic continental margin west of England. The Western Approaches, one of these new exploration frontiers, is currently the subject of drilling to test hydrocarbon potential.

The Western Approaches forms an ENE-WSW trending structural trough southwest of England extending from the mouth of the English Channel westward to the edge of the continental shelf. The basin is believed to be the failed arm of a triple junction which originated in Permian-Triassic rifting associated with separation of the North American continent from western Europe and the opening of the Atlantic.

Seismic and gravity data indicate good sediment thickness in which Permian-Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary sequences have been interpreted. Structure of the basin has been strongly influenced by Hercynian related tectonism in basement rocks. Four wells have been drilled within the last 18 months as the first exploratory attempts in this basin.

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