North Sea Core initiative – Geology

North Sea Core (https://www.northseacore.co.uk/) is a voluntary initiative to try and save North Sea geology cores in response to the release of core material by oil and gas companies, through the relinquishment, abandonment and decommissioning of fields in the North Sea. Their aim is to provide core as material for outreach and education. Dr Leo Newport, teacher of geology, leaped at the opportunity and got in contact with the initiative.

The core Worcester Sixth Form College Geology (@WSFCGeology) have adopted will be used to show students how exploration for oil and gas works in the industry and the role of a geologist in this. It provides an invaluable hands-on look into source, reservoir and seal rocks which form oil fields. It will allow students to practice their geological skills such as rock and mineral identification, logging and looking at structures to understand processes and environments of sedimentary rock deposition that took place millions of years ago. This core material is how companies explore for and extract one of societies most important natural resources – oil and gas, which links directly to what the students study. These pieces of core will provide an invaluable insight into geology and hopefully inspire our students to pursue careers in geoscience after College.