Is the end of North Sea exploration nigh?

The Petroleum Geology Conference (PGC) - organised by the Geological Society, PESGB and the Energy Institute - has a rich tradition of furthering the understanding of the geology of the North Sea basin. The series of seven conferences that have been held over the past 30 years or so have stressed the basin’s important place in global oil and gas exploration and development through the delivery of technical presentations and poster displays. At the most recent PGC, held at the QEII Centre in Westminster earlier this year, however, innovative lunchtime debates were added to this year’s conference programme, at which two expert protagonists presented their views for and against popular motions.
John Underhill, Grant Institute of Earth Science, The School of Geosciences, The University of Edinburgh, reports.