Introduction

The outbreak of hostilities between new unconventional oil supply and giant legacy oil production represents a violent threat to the sustainability of the conventional oil exploration industry. Coruscations from this battle starkly illuminate the explorer’s paradox: an imperative to focus on plays that have low risk and huge potential, whilst having to seek these within mature basins on well explored continental shelves. Where can we find sufficient prospects with dramatic enough scale to compete in the unconventional vs legacy giant wars? Using 2D seismic acquired in the last two years on the Atlantic margins, we will examine the play systematics that manifest in Ultra-Deep Water (UDW) low risk prospects on a scale hitherto unimagined that will ultimately win conventional’s fight back to be the futures energy supplier of choice.