At a geology lecture held recently at the Ravenmeols Community Centre in nearby Formby Dr. Richard Worden, senior lecturer at the University of Liverpool , held a packed audience spellbound as he plotted the history of the town’s little-known oilfields, discovered in the late 1930’s.
Although the extractions were small in size, the geology has been recently proven to be similar in its strata to the Lennox Field, the very large deposits located under the seabed just off the Southport coast, where the oil yield is as high as 33,000 barrels per day together with the combined extraction of vast amounts of methane gas (with estimated reserves equal to 1.2 trillion cubic feet).
The small inland oilfields near Formby have now dried up and the area has been returned to agricultural use. But Dr. Worden had some very interesting news for his audience, as it appears that the latest satellite imaging technology indicates that previously unknown pockets of oil may still exist in and around the town at comparatively shallow depths.
This is of little commercial use to the oil industry’s ‘big boys’, but, with oil prices recently soaring to over $55 per barrel, there appears to be an opening for the smaller operator to cash-in on this new opportunity once these sources can be located and proven to be viable.
Along our coastline, through Southport and up to Crossens, salt domes have been located. This is a good sign of oil pocket potential, so these areas certainly need to be studied again using the new satellite survey technology.
Our party continues to investigate every avenue to improve the economy of our area - for who knows what valuable and untapped minerals exist beneath our feet in the form of oil, gas and geothermal hot water? The latter find could EVEN turn our resort into the first man-made spa town in Britain.
This interesting lecture on our coastline’s geological potential really focussed the minds of the many people in the crowded audience. Dr. York of the Formby Civic Society, who hosted the event, called for a vote of thanks to Dr. Worden for his fascinating and informative evening.