The South Viking Graben (SVG) is a mature, prolific, hydrocarbon-producing area of the northern North Sea. Many fields produce from Upper Jurassic, deep-water, mass-flow conglomerate and sandstone reservoirs, termed the Brae Play. Deposition occurred in proximal and basin-floor submarine fan environments, mostly fed down the steep western flank of the graben footwall but with some, largely sandstone, fans being fed from the less steep eastern graben flank. Encasing mudstones form world-class source rocks.

A detailed classification scheme for coarse-grained, deep-water deposits, a review of fine-grained turbidites, and a discussion of the conglomeratic megabeds are provided prior to detailed discussions of the character of Brae Play reservoir facies, the fan architectures and distribution of the fan systems, the trapping mechanisms and structural evolution of the basin, and an extensive account of the petroleum systems in the SVG. The area forms an outstanding example of hydrocarbon reservoirs within submarine fan facies in a rift environment.

This Memoir provides a comprehensive review and interpretation of the Upper Jurassic reservoirs in the SVG, which will be relevant to those working in the North Sea and analogous rift basins. It will also be of considerable relevance to all those with an interest in deep-water ssedimentology, particularly those involved with deep-water coarse-clastic deposits.